Innocence and Instinct
by CorkyTheGuar
Summary: Nick and Ellis get separated from Coach and Rochelle. As the two men fight to rejoin them, Ellis struggles with his desire for Nick's acceptance while Nick struggles with the realization that he is starting to care about someone other than himself.
1. Chapter 1

~Nick~

"Hello there, gorgeous."

The woman, suddenly wrenched from her dream-like stupor, turned her head quickly. Desperate to lay her gaze upon the source of that curious sound, she peered tentatively across the hotel parking lot and into the quickly approaching darkness.

"Yeah, I was talking to you," Simultaneously silky and gritty, the voice sent a jolt down her spine and filled her with an indescribable mixture of fear and longing. "The name's Nick, what's yours?"

_My Name?_

The tiny sparkle of gold rings distracted her as the man lifted a hand to sweep back his dark hair. Her thoughts were so muddy…in fact, she could think of nothing except the overwhelming desire to throw herself upon the man that stood so confidently before her. She had to have him.

Nick flashed a wry smile at the woman's sudden, frantic approach.

"Sorry sweetheart," he mused, raising a pistol and planting a bullet between the woman's eyes, "You can look, but you can't touch this." Stepping lightly over the crumpled, still twitching form, Nick snatched the purse from the woman's shoulders. His fingers performing a dexterous dance through its contents: a cell phone, a paltry wad of cash, and a can of mace were buried beneath a mountain of cosmetics.

"Nick, what the hell you doin' stealin' from zombies?"

_Ellis…what the hell was he doing back here?_

"I heard a gun shot an' thought you mighta' gotten yourself inta' trouble," the boy's eyes were wide with an apparent concern that puzzled Nick. They had only met each other a few days ago.

"I think I can handle a lone zombie, Overalls."

"Why ya' have ta' call me that for?"

"Cuz you're wearing overalls, you idiot," Nick pointed out as he quickly pocketed the items he deemed valuable from the infected woman's purse.

"What are ya' takin' her money for anyway? It ain't gonna do you no good now."

"What can I say, Overalls? I have a fetish."

"You ain't right in the head, Nick," the boy said with a grin. The conman gave a quick snort and took a moment to observe the various tangled piles of corpses that littered the parking lot of this cheap hotel. Nick figured about half of the bodies to be infected and the other half were their victims. In reality they were all victims of the same damned disease that was spreading unimpeded across the country. To his left, he could see a pair of bloody little twin girls lying side by side. They couldn't have been older than seven. To his right, he noticed what appeared to be the lower half of a Seeing Eye dog, and at his feet- the body of the woman he just shot. The conman couldn't help but notice how beautiful she must have been before her gruesome transformation. Decay permeated the air like a thick fog.

So much for his plan, he suddenly realized.

_There's no way I can do this on my own._

"Where are the other two," Nick finally asked.

"Oh, Coach and Ro? They're a little ways off. Found a ditch were we can reach the fairgrounds.

"And you left them?" Deserting the others was more Nick's speed- which is exactly what he had planned on doing before Ellis found him. The conman was on his way back to the racecar they had used to get out of Savannah. Driving off alone into the night on a different route was a much better idea than traipsing through a carnival with a bunch of losers, but he had never taken Ellis as the kind of person who would do the same.

"Well they was holdin' their own just fine. We only came across three zombies and then I noticed that you just disappeared so I came lookin' for ya. I was worried…" A tiny, thoughtful smile formed across the mechanic's lips. This threw the conman completely off guard.

_Worried about me?_

Nick wasn't one to display deep emotions outwardly, and he also had to detract attention away from the shady action he had attempted to commit. So the conman chose his next words very carefully.

"Ellis, you foolish hillbilly! Coach and Rochelle could be in deep shit right now! We have to go find them." As if on cue, a shrill scream pierced the evening air.

The two men broke into a sprint away from the abandoned hotel.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, that was Ro!" Ellis gasped, his feet pounding the pavement.

"Yeah, and if anything happens to them, Overalls, its your fault for abandoning them," sometimes Nick even amazed himself at how much of an asshole he could be.

As they rounded the corner of a staircase, Nick suddenly found himself knocked to the ground. Pale, bloody arms had wrapped themselves around his legs, and he kicked frantically while rolling onto his back. The half-rotting monster crawled forward. Its drooling mouth was open, revealing putrid gums and blackened teeth. After swearing profusely, the gambler fired two shots into that gaping maw. As the creature slumped forward, a stream of bloody drool dribbled onto his suit.

"This is so damn annoying," Nick growled.

Once Ellis realized the other man was no longer following him, he had doubled back and by the time he reached Nick's side, the suited man had already lifted himself onto his feet.

"Gosh Nick, are you alright man?"

"Ellis, You. Are. Useless." Nick's tone was ruthlessly icy as he ran off once more towards the direction of the scream. This time it was Ellis who lagged behind.

~Ellis~

Upon reaching the edge of the aforementioned ditch, the two men were greeted with the ominous absence of their fellow survivors.

"Are they down there already?" Ellis sounded like a child whose best friends ran off to the candy store without him, "Why didn't they wait for us?" It was then that he became aware of a low guttural sound.

"They probably had no choice but to forge ahead," he heard Nick say, but the bushes rustling slightly behind him captured his attention. Ellis stared intensely at the hunch-backed form that suddenly hopped out of the foliage. The grip on his Desert Eagle tightened.

"They must have been chased down there," Nick concluded just before hearing Ellis shout. The conman whirled around and was at the kid's side in an instant. "What the hell's wrong?" Nick's eyes darted wildly searching for Ellis' attacker.

"Isn't he cool, Nick?" Ellis beamed as he held his cupped hands up to Nick's face. Nestled between the boy's palms, a tiny toad stared curiously into Nick's furious eyes.

"Get that disgusting thing away from me!" he roared as he smacked the diminutive creature out of Ellis' hands with such force that it flew over the bushes and down the steep slope below them. The young man stared at Nick with a look of absolute horror, as though the conman had just murdered a member of his family. "I don't have time for your bullshit games, Overalls!"

As they made their way down the steep slope and into a fetid gully, Ellis kept his eyes peeled for Coach and Rochelle-and secretly- for his little amphibian friend. Unfortunately, all they found were zombies.

Lots of them.

"Prepare yourself, Overalls," he heard Nick bark, "I'll take the ones in the front. You handle the ones behind them." Ellis silently obeyed and readied his hunting rifle. Nick had already begun moving swiftly ahead, tearing through a line of zombies with his submachine gun. Ellis followed the older man at a slightly slower pace, lessening Nick's burden by picking off the infected further ahead.

"We can cross up here," Nick shouted as they approached the steep embankment. As they started their climb, Ellis noticed a rotund silhouette above them. The mechanic searched with the lens of his rifle for the creature while Nick dealt with a new group of infected that had tried to blind-side him. By the time Ellis had a clear shot at his mark, the portly zombie had already made its way partly down the slope towards Nick.

"Boomer! Boomer!" the boy warned as he fired a shot, then another, then another!

"Take care of it Ellis, I have my hands full here!"

Ellis let out a frustrated growl. He had never encountered a Boomer that possessed such agility. The beast somehow managed to twirl and dance around his gunfire like a bloated ballerina. It was close now, way too close to Nick. So close that there was no way Ellis would miss this time- but miss he did as a zombie tackled him from behind.

"Argh!" he yelled in frustration as the zombie pounded its fist into the mechanic's skull. Ellis shoved it back and blew its head off clean with his rifle. As he jumped to his feet, he looked up to find Nick not only covered in putrid vomit, but also already completely surrounded by a horde of at least twenty zombies. More could be seen sprinting in to join the fray. To make matters worse, the Boomer had decided to join in on the chaos it had wrought instead of running away.

"Damn it, Damn it, DAMNIT!" Ellis cried as he ran towards the pulsating mass of infected bodies that had entombed his friend. He panicked for a split second, unsure of the best course of action to take. Then he aimed his rifle once more at the Boomer.

That sonofabitch was going to pay.

The shockwave of the bursting Boomer threw all of the zombies- as well as Nick- off balance. Both men took advantage of the explosion: Ellis by killing several infected that had been separated from his friend, and Nick by quickly reloading his gun before the zombies were on top of him once more.

"God damn it Overalls, help me!" Ellis heard Nick yell and watched in awe as he caught flashes of a splotchy white suit and pulses of lighted gunfire. Nick was apparently spinning in a circle, emptying his entire clip into the relentless wall of flesh surrounding him.

"I'm coming, Nick!"

As he closed the distance between himself and the conman, Ellis suddenly felt his entire back become wet and sticky. He howled in agony as glowing goo quickly permeated the thin material of his shirt and assaulted his flesh. The pain was sharper than any he had felt in his young life. Ellis knew that Nick was still in trouble, but the searing pain that grew more intense with every millisecond was too much- too damn much.

It had to stop.

_WATER! WATER! _His mind screamed as the boy dropped his rifle and tore back down the hill. He leapt into the disgusting stream in a desperate attempt to dilute the corrosive substance. The pain didn't stop, but at least it was bearable now. He surfaced quickly and noticed the stilted gait of a fleeing Spitter. Ellis fired his Desert Eagle, nailing her in the back of the skull.

He made his way back to Nick, who by this time, had killed every last infected that had swarmed him. By the look on the conman's face, Ellis was sure he was next on Nick's kill list.

"Nick are-"

"Don't speak."

* * *

After securing the safe room door, Nick collapsed in a heap on the floor. Ellis could see that every inch of the other man's exposed skin was covered in scratches and bruises. And the suit…it was an absolute mess.

"Hey Nick, let me help ya heal up," the mechanic's voice was small, his heart huge.

"Take care of your own wounds you God damned hick. I'll take care of mine."

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?" Ellis' voice was down to a hoarse, stifled whisper and his eyes filled with tears.

"I told you to take care of that Boomer! A Boomer's ass is wider than the broad side of a freakin' barn! How could you have missed? Not only that, but you abandon me to go for a swim!" Nick was so completely enraged that Ellis thought the conman was going to strike him. Ellis didn't care anymore.

"Abandoned you? YOU'RE THE ABANDONER!!" The boy screamed. He had never been this furious in his life. "The only reason we got into this mess is cuz of you! We could have all been together right now if you hadn't run off!"

This effectively silenced Nick, and after a few tense moments, the conman was about to say something but was interrupted.

"And you killed Herbert!" Ellis wailed.

"And who in the hell is Herbert? Nick gawked at such a random accusation before it dawned on him. "Let me guess, that God damned frog?!?"

Ellis buried his face in his hands and sobbed bitterly.


	2. Chapter 2

~Nick~

The conman had never been a fan of clowns, so he was taken aback when he first spotted the unholy creature. With its back to the two survivors, the clown was hunched over, seemingly preoccupied with some sort of bizarre ritual. Nick's grip on his newly found katana was very tight.

"I think we can take 'im Nick, as long as we get 'im by surprise," he heard Ellis whisper. The two men had nearly run out of ammo, having been swarmed after barely setting foot out of the safe room where they had spent half the night recovering from their previous ordeal. The area around the entrance of Whispering Oaks was definitely bustling with large crowds. Unfortunately, not one individual in those crowds had been normal or sane. Although the two men had handled the throng with surprising ease, something about the lone clown made Nick leery, and with good reason.

"Don't be stupid, Overalls. We're going around him."

"But-"

"I said we're going around him!" Nick hissed.

As they crept silently around the clown, Nick could just barely make out what the creature was doing. To say the least, it was gruesome. The moon, three quarters full, draped a sinister halo over the evil being's crouched form, causing the copious amount of blood painting its clothing to glisten with a sickening sheen. The playful blue and pink stripes on its pants and matching top hat only made the creature more frightening. The clown's wig, bright blue and unusually long, cascaded down to the zombie's lower back in wild ringlets. To make matters worse, the clown's body was well above average in both height and physique. Well-developed muscles stretched the thin wife beater shirt almost to bursting.

Nick's eyes widened as he witnessed large gloved hands sifting through the slashed belly and exposed intestines of a fallen little boy at the clown's feet. Eerie, almost chanting sounds could be heard between swallows as the monster began greedily consuming the child's organs. Ellis clasped his hands to his mouth and let out a small moan. The clown quickly lifted its head, as if disturbed, but did not turn to face the two men.

Panicked, Nick elbowed Ellis while motioning for him to stay quiet. The conman moved behind the wooden structure of a carnival game and then darted quickly past several food stands, Ellis following closely behind. They kept moving until the clown was well out of sight and earshot, finally coming to a stop next to a cotton candy stand. Nick relaxed a little and looking around, he was suddenly aware of how devoid of zombies this section of the carnival was.

"Alright Overalls, which way to the tunnel?" While still in the safe room, Nick had spotted a note, hastily scrawled in what could have only been blood on one of the walls:

Nick and Ellis,

Meet us in the tunnel of love,

Coach and Ro.

"It's this way, come on," Ellis said rather glumly as he began walking. Nick observed the mechanic for a moment without following. The conman couldn't help but notice how the boy's mood had changed since their rather intense argument in the safe room. Ellis seemed to have deflated, and was nothing like the goofy, optimistic young man he had met on the roof of the burning hotel back in Savannah.

_Its my fault_, Nick thought uneasily and sighed heavily.

"Hey Overalls, hang on a second," the mechanic stopped at Nick's voice and turned to face the other man, "How about we make some cotton candy?" the conman said with a devilish grin. Ellis stared at Nick for a second. The boy suddenly seemed to light up from within. The smile that spread from ear to ear was so wide that it threatened to split the young man's face in two.

"I loooooove cotton candy!" Ellis beamed.

_Much better_, Nick thought to himself, then to Ellis, "Don't get too excited, this machine might not work." Unfortunately, it was out of order.

"Aw that's ok Nick, come on the tunnel of love is this a way," the boy said with a hundred times more enthusiasm than before and he broke off into an excited jog. Nick shook his head and smiled. Never in his life had the words 'I'm sorry' escaped from the conman's lips, but his offering of cotton candy to Ellis had just been his first feeble attempt at an apology. The enormity of that fact, Nick realized, had been fully understood by Ellis. In fact, the boy had appeared to have completely forgiven the gambler as Nick ran up to keep pace with him.

"Oh man, the last time I came here was with my buddy Keith. We had a blast! We played every game twice and went on every ride three times and- HOLY SHIT IT'S KIDDIE LAAAAAND!!!!" Ellis whooped as they approached what Nick guessed to be Ellis' favorite section of the carnival.

"Don't get any ideas Overalls, we don't have time to ride- UUUGH!!!"

The wind was suddenly snatched from Nick's lungs as he found himself careening across the park at an alarming speed before his back slammed into the rickety side paneling of a building. After blacking out for a split second from the force of the impact, Nick felt himself being lifted by a humongous arm. The Charger glared down at him before slamming him to the ground. Nick's mind raced. How far had he been dragged?

Too far for Ellis to reach him in time.

The charger lifted him once more.

"Overalls, I need some help!" he screamed as loudly as he could manage, but there was no response. He stared into the Charger's soulless eyes and braced himself for the inevitable pain.

SLAM!!

Lift.

"Ellis please, it's killing me!!"

SLAM!!

Lift.

"AAAAAHH!!!!"

SLAM!!!

As his vision blurred, Nick shoved both hands into his suit pockets, fishing desperately for the two things that could save him. His heart froze. Had he dropped them?

Lift.

Nick pulled out his hands: in his left- an adrenaline shot, and in his right- the can of mace he had taken from the infected woman's purse back at the hotel.

He emptied the entire can into the charger's face.

The beast roared in outrage, releasing its grip on the conman and holding its giant arm to its eyes. Half blind himself from the cloud of mace, Nick stuck the needle of the adrenaline shot into his thigh and reached for the katana on his back. Slashing like a madman, his blade caught the Charger's neck; the resulting wound spraying blood with the force of a ruptured fire hydrant. Then suddenly the gambler was off. Too dazed to realize which direction he was running, Nick was is full panic mode, and the Charger had begun chasing him despite its own hideous wound.

The conman suddenly found himself in an ally- just about the worst place he could be with a Charger on his ass. He could practically feel the monster's snorting breath on the back of his neck as he sprinted with all of his might down the narrow death trap. As he approached the corner of the building on his right, he made a hard turn, nearly snapping his ankle. The Charger grazed his body before slamming through the window of a gift shop. Nick staggered from the glancing blow but his momentum, the adrenaline coursing through his system, and his own will to live prevented him from going down.

He made his way into an adjacent building. Although the interior was dark, Nick's pupils had dilated from the injection and he spotted an assault rifle on the ground next to a corpse. Grabbing the weapon, he looked up and noticed a ladder. The Charger was approaching again, and Nick climbed up the rungs while keeping his rifle aimed down until he reached the roof. As expected, the beast tried to follow him up the ladder and wedged itself tightly into the narrow space, unable to move any further. Nick fired shot after shot into the Charger's skull until he was sure it was dead and then some.

Noticing four lesser zombies on the roof with him, the conman beheaded all of them with four lightning fast lashes of his blade before collapsing. The adrenaline was wearing off, and his head was beginning to pound.

_ELLIS!! _

He had completely forgotten the boy in his panic.

Rising to his knees was nearly impossible, but Nick forced himself up. He crawled to the edge of the roof and as his tunnel vision cleared, he could just barely see Ellis' tiny form in the distance. To his horror he also noticed the much larger form of the monstrous clown approaching the boy. Ellis was right. They should have taken the clown out together when they had the chance, and now the young man was about to pay for Nick's mistake.

Cursing himself, Nick rose to his feet but instantly crumpled to the ground. His limbs felt like rubber and waves of pain pulsated throughout his torso.

"Ellis…" he whimpered " I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry."

~Ellis~

The mechanic blinked and stared at the spot not five feet away where Nick had stood a split second earlier. A grayish blur and a rush of wind carrying the smell of a barn animal were all that his senses had perceived. Chargers were normally quite loud- their braying vocalizations often betrayed their presence. This one had been silent.

Ellis took off after Nick as quickly as his feet could carry him. His hunting rifle was completely out of ammo, and he had lost his Desert Eagle fighting the horde earlier that night. With the Charger fading off into the distance, his newly found guitar- now his only offensive option-was useless.

_Hang on Nick, just hang on._

Ellis had been pleasantly surprised at the break in Nick's terrible attitude just minutes ago, making it easier for the boy to cover his anger up with a goofy smile and a crazy story. Truthfully though he _was_ still angry. Ellis liked Nick. Hell, he looked up to the older man as some sort of badass hero. Perhaps that was why Ellis felt so angry and hurt. As he continued his futile pursuit, he wondered why Nick hated him so much.

Suddenly, the young man came to a screeching halt as the enormous, blue wigged clown leapt in front of his path. Ellis' heart sprung to his throat as he stared into the zombie's face for the first time. Only the left half was still painted with makeup. The right half was painted with blood. The false nose had fallen off and its eyes shone with a sinister glow. Full lips parted to reveal jagged, shark-like teeth the color of midnight.

At about five feet, seven inches tall, the mechanic was somewhat shorter than the average man. By comparison, the monster was pushing seven feet and had a rock-solid body builder's physique. It began to approach him slowly, only twenty feet separated him from death incarnate.

Ellis suddenly realized he was shaking violently and that his body was drenched in sweat. But why? He had seen and experienced more than his fair share of horrific shit. He had faced Tanks for God's sake, but this thing was different.

It was ten feet away now.

The boy's face flushed and he felt light-headed. The Spitter-inflicted wound on his back began to tingle. The clown seemed to exude pure evil, like an aura, from every pore.

Five feet away.

Ellis was paralyzed. He felt himself lose control of his bladder.

Five inches away.

The mechanic didn't see the bite coming, but he sure as hell felt it as the clown's enormous jaws sank into his shoulder. The upper row of teeth met and grinded against his shoulder blade, while the lower jaw wrapped under his collarbone and shredded the top of his chest. Ellis was now familiar with the rotten purity of true physical pain. Pain so piercing, it made the acid burns on his back seem like a luxurious massage by comparison. He didn't scream. No scream he could have produced would have been loud enough to do justice to the agony he was in. The pain was so soul-wrenchingly horrible that it made him want to die just so that it would end.

Death did not come, however. In fact, the clown hopped backwards leaving the young man writhing on the ground. It then began to dance around him, stomping its squeaky shoes on the ground. Suddenly, two lesser zombies appeared and joined the disturbing dance.

When the clown stopped, the newly arrived pair stopped as well and stared dumbly at their master. The clown motioned to the now unconscious Ellis. The two zombies each grabbed one of his arms and began to drag him away. In the distance, the train of the Screaming Oak roller coaster began traveling along the tracks.

***

A peculiar scraping sound caused Ellis to stir and he found himself in a tiny room. The pain that had caused his blackout had mercifully decreased. On a scale of one to ten, the throbbing bite wound was a solid nine. It had been a fifty. As he carefully sat up, he summoned the courage to look down at his injury. Dim lights filtering through the window on the door behind him barely allowed him to see it. Purple, swollen and covered in saliva the color and consistency of tar, it certainly wasn't pretty. Ellis moaned and leaned his head against the wall. He was famished, and the bite seemed to be sapping what little energy he had left. It was then that he noticed a bag of beef jerky next to him.

"HOLY SHIT IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

Ellis tore into the bag and devoured its contents in mere seconds. To his utter disbelief, there were many more bags of jerky piled in the corner. His mind raced. Had another survivor rescued him and taken him to their hideout? It was then that he heard the scraping sound again and noticed a tiny form huddled behind the pile of food. The two saucer shaped orbs of its eyes began to glow as it crawled towards him. With an emaciated frame and rotting, horribly sagged skin, the thing was truly ghastly to behold. It appeared to be an old woman distorted to the extreme by the Infection.

The woman shrieked and pounced on Ellis with unexpected speed and leaned her face over his. The boy was immediately reminded of the clown when he looked at her hollowed visage. The resemblance was uncanny. Although the woman didn't weigh much, Ellis found himself too weak to push her off of him. She looked at his bite wound and grinned gleefully, flashing an all too familiar set of shark teeth.

"NOOOOOO!!!!" Ellis screamed as the creature tore into the already damaged flesh. Time froze as he realized that this demon wasn't simply biting him.

It was ripping pieces of him away and swallowing them.


	3. Chapter 3

~Nick~

"God damn you, Ellis!" Nick roared as he slowly made his way back down from the roof of the building. "Asshole! Son of a bitch!" For as long as he could remember, the conman had a foul mouth. In fact, "Bitch" had been his third word, after "Mama" and "Dada." Now though, it seemed he had developed full-blown Tourette's as he climbed back down the ladder.

It was dawn when the gambler had risen from his rock-like slumber and as the pain began to wash over him, so did all of the memories of last night- of the hellish nightmare that his life had become. He made his way over to the spot he had last seen Ellis and the clown before passing out. There was no sign of either of them, dead or alive.

"Ellis, you dumbshit!" He yelled in frustration, "I give you an inch and you take a mile!" Nick honestly didn't know how he felt about Ellis. Heaven and hell knew that the kid could be annoying. All throughout their earlier attempt at evacuation in Savannah, Ellis had tormented the conman with his immaturity and a bottomless well of Keith stories that threatened to swallow Nick whole and drive him completely insane. However, Ellis was kind and thoughtful, and had somehow managed to make Nick feel an emotion he had never felt before: guilt. And if his memory served him correctly, Nick had actually apologized to Ellis last night on the rooftop. Granted, he had been more than a bit delirious and overwhelmed. Besides, the mechanic had not even been around to hear it.

_Thank God for that,_ he thought to himself.

It was this guilt that had made him offer the boy some cotton candy, but Ellis had taken things too far. Instantly, he had reverted to his old self and was bouncing around like that stupid little toad of his.

_What had he called it… Henry, Herman_?

Undoubtedly that's what caught the Charger's attention, Nick thought. And if the mechanic hadn't been gibbering some more Keith nonsense, the conman was sure he would have heard the beast coming. It was then that he noticed the nearby puddle of coagulated blood that had partially dried onto the pavement. Mixed in with the blood was an unknown fluid- thick and black with a pungent, sour odor. Both substances trailed off conveniently to the left. Nick was pissed, so incredibly pissed. Once he found them, _both_ the clown and Ellis had better watch out.

***

The bloody trail grew fainter and fainter until it petered out in front of a chain-link fence that enclosed a merry-go-round. A gate had already been opened and as Nick made his way around the ride, he spotted the Tunnel of Love in the distance. He also spotted zombies but that was ok, he still had his katana and assault rifle. Additionally, a first aid kit lay conveniently on a picnic table. Life was grand.

"Thank you Coach and Ro."

While killing the approaching zombies, Nick's thoughts turned to the non-Ellis members of his team. Coach was less annoying than the mechanic, and although he had put Nick in his place on several occasions, the big guy knew how to take care of himself and the others- serving as the de facto leader. Rochelle was less annoying than Coach, and she was attractive. When he wasn't fighting for his life, flirting with her had helped Nick pass the time. The conman was a realist, so he knew there was no way in hell the two of them were still waiting in that tunnel. He himself wouldn't have waited. Only Ellis, he thought, would have been stupid enough to wait.

The wind began to pick up and a strange odor wafted in the breeze. As a few more zombies approached him, Nick was jarred from his musings by a bloodthirsty screech. Before his conscious mind could wrap itself around the inhuman sound, his body had ducked to the ground. The Hunter sailed over his head, missing the gambler by two inches, and landed just in front of him. Nick swung is katana in a wide arc, but the hooded figure leapt over the blade's path. Spring-like tendons propelled the hunter skyward. The conman fired his rifle, but the creature was like liquid mercury. It contorted its limber body, changing directions in mid-flight and avoided every bullet. The hunter landed with the grace of a jungle cat, and turned to face the suited man once more.

A bullet found its way into the zombie's shoulder as it made another lunge at Nick, who rolled to the side and resumed firing. Nick didn't have the energy for this, and as he began backing away towards the tunnel, he bumped into a common zombie who proceeded to grab him. The Hunter crouched once more, recognizing its prey was now immobilized.

Enraged, Nick bashed the back of his head into the common zombie's face, stunning the infected long enough for Nick to spin the both of them around and to thrust his katana into its belly. By this point the hunter was already soaring through the air. Nick braced himself for the impact while supporting the dead zombie in front of him like a shield. The force of the hunter's lunge brought all three bodies to the ground, while driving Nick's katana all the way through the common infected and into the hunter's chest. The conman caught his breath as he crawled from beneath the infected shish kabob he had created.

"Done like dinner."

~Ellis~

The shock of being eaten alive gave the mechanic's arms the strength to rise shakily. He wrapped his hands around the bony neck of the murderous hag that was consuming him and squeezed with all of his might. The ancient zombie immediately ended her feast and stared at him- eyes nearly popping out of her skull from the pressure.

In her old age, the woman had been far too weak to take care of herself. Luckily she had a big, strong grandson whom she had raised since his birth. He loved her more than anything in the world and stopped by every other day to bring her groceries and clean her house. On weekends, he would take her to this very carnival where he worked as a clown. Their love for one another had been so powerful that not even the Infection could take it away. So as the old woman hid herself from the light, her grandson still provided her with groceries- of the human variety- and cleaned her messy little house. But her appetite had grown insatiable, so the clown had resorted to using the jerky as bait to lure starving survivors to her. She preferred living prey that was injured enough for her to handle, but today's meal was putting up far too much of a struggle for her comfort. She had to do something.

Ellis continued to apply steady pressure to the monster's neck. He couldn't push her off, so he put all that remained of his focus and energy into strangling the shit out of the vile creature. Unfortunately, Ellis realized that the old woman had begun to strangle him as well. Spots danced in front of his eyes. His back ached as it pressed against the guitar still strapped to it. He couldn't believe it. Was this how he was going to die?

_Give up._

Voices in his head…he had to ignore them, he had to kill her before she killed him.

_Your life is meaningless._

Ellis' eyes were becoming blurry. The thoughts, they weren't his own inner voice. He would have never said such dark, evil things to himself. The zombie leaned into him, her flaming eyes burned into his soul.

_He isn't coming for you. He hates you._

Ellis' grip on the demon's neck began to falter. How was this possible? The boy had been cutting off her air supply for much longer than she had his. He was smarter and stronger than she was, wasn't he?

_You are stupid and weak. __**I **__**WILL EAT YOU.**_

"No!" Ellis gasped, but he was losing his battle. The boy had been defeated physically, emotionally, and now mentally.

_OVERALLS! YOU GOD DAMNED INBRED SON OF A BITCH!_

Now Nick was screaming in his head.

_HAVE YOU GIVEN UP? ARE YOU DEAD?_

Ellis' blood began to boil. That bastard still owed him an apology.

With a burst of ferocious strength, Ellis' grip on the zombie's neck became vice-like and he lifted himself to a sitting position. Despite having killed many zombies since the Infection ravaged his hometown, Ellis' big heart prevented him from truly enjoying the killings- until now.

He slammed the old hag to the ground and she fully released her grip on his neck. Ellis' lungs surged with blessed oxygen as he raised his right arm- the one attached to his uninjured shoulder- to grab his guitar.

By the time Ellis was finished, the zombie had been reduced to an unrecognizable bloody mass, more gelatinous than solid.

"Overalls, don't make me say this again, let me in. I know you're in there!" Nick's booming voice brought the boy back from his blind rage. Confused, Ellis broke the glass window of the locked door to the old woman's lair and crawled out of the opening. He looked around and chuckled as he realized where he was. Various heart shaped designs and motifs decorated the walls. Swan shaped boats floated serenely over an inch and a half of water in the chamber beyond. Ellis slithered over to the safe room door and let the conman inside.

"Hey Nick," he wheezed before fainting, "Wanna ride in the Tunnel a' Love with me?"


	4. Chapter 4

~Nick~

"Jesus Christ, Ellis! What in the hell did you get yourself into?" It had begun to rain, so the conman removed his white jacket and placed it outside in hopes of the drizzle washing it clean.

Priorities.

He then bolted the safe room door and reached for his med kit. Pulling out a small bottle of saline, Nick began flushing away the toxic grime from the boy's ravaged shoulder. Ellis stirred a little, but remained unconscious- until the older man began suturing his open flesh back together.

"HOLY SHIT! OOOOWW!!" Ellis jolted awake, ripping apart the neatly sown portions of his wound.

"God damn it! If you don't hold still I'll beat you so badly your sister slash mother is going to feel it!" Nick was irate, his handiwork ruined. "Now I have to start over! If you so much as hiccup, I swear to God I'll let you bleed out."

"Aw come on, Nick! How's a fella' s'posta just sit still and let someone operate on 'im without no laughin' gas?"

"Anesthesia?" Nick corrected. "Look around, Hayseed, does this look like an ER to you? You're just going to have to- oh whoops. Hold on, I seem to have found some numbing spray in here."

"Well Piss!!" Ellis huffed, "You bastard!"

The cetacaine merely took the edge off the boy's pain as Nick began the hour-long ordeal of suturing the wounds closed and wrapping the shoulder with gauze and bandages. Ellis hollered and whined the whole way through.

"Don't ever say I never did anything for you," Nick snapped as he wiped his sweat-drenched brow.

"Thank you kindly, sir. I appreciate it, I do."

"Whatever, you should rest up for a bit. We have to keep moving soon because damn it, at this rate we're never going to catch up to the others."

After cluing the conman in on the stash of jerky in the other room, Ellis curled up in a corner and instantly fell asleep. Nick also decided to take a nap after eating his fill, but ended up falling asleep for several hours. By then, the rain had stopped, but left a distinct chill in the air. The sun was already falling below the horizon.

Waking up, Nick observed the young man's sleeping form in the fading light. Every few seconds, a violent shiver would pass through the mechanic. His torn shirt provided no protection to his injured body.

_Stupid kid._

Nick quietly retrieved his jacket and dried it as best he could before draping it over Ellis like a blanket.

* * *

"Sorry Nick, so so sorry."

"Overalls! What the hell, man?" The mechanic had startled the conman from a light sleep.

"Well Nick, I woke up from this nightmare I was havin'. Don't remember none of it now 'cept there was this baby cryin'. Anyways, I realized I was layin' there with your jacket on me!"

Nick fidgeted, but didn't say anything.

"So I just sat there for a while wondering how your jacket got to bein' on me. Well, the only thing I could think of was I musta' stolen it during the night."

The older man relaxed a little.

_Damn, Ellis you really are an idiot._

"Now hold on to your horses before ya' get mad at me cuz I didn't mean to steal it. I musta' been sleep walkin' when I did it. Used ta' do that all the time when I was younger, sorry." The boy stared sheepishly at Nick as he held the jacket out to him.

"Overalls, how dare you!" The conman feigned offense and snatched the jacket from Ellis' hands, "But I accept your apology."

The boy twiddled his thumbs for a moment before saying timidly, "Speakin' of apologies Nick, um, I do believe you owe me one…you know for runnin' off and kinda getting us into this mess in the first place- if you don't mind."

"I do mind."

"Oh…ok."

Though neither of the two had rested sufficiently, both men agreed to continue their search for Coach and Rochelle. Ellis' shoulder pained him greatly and although there was plenty of ammo in the safe room for his hunting rifle, the boy found it too difficult to lift the rifle up to use the scope lens. He opted to switch to a shotgun instead. Nick made it a point to give Ellis his katana in exchange for the guitar, arguing that the lighter blade was easier to swing with one arm.

Making their way through the tunnel was surprisingly simple. Very few zombies bothered them along the way as they exited and headed towards the Screaming Oak roller coaster. Even running along the tracks provided the men with little resistance. The excitement dulling his pain, Ellis clearly enjoyed himself as he flew up and down the hills making a 'Chug, chug, chug' noise like a train.

"Knock it off, Overalls," the conman warned, "Have you even stopped to consider why you can afford to act like a complete idiot right now?" The mechanic shrugged as Nick continued, "I can count the number of zombies we've killed on one hand since we got out of the tunnel. Doesn't that seem strange to you?"

Ellis appeared to mull over the question for a few moments before replying.

"I don't know, Nick. Maybe the zombies are too busy enjoyin' all the cool ass rides! And didn't you notice that Smoker back in the Tunnel a' love? That dude was all like French kissin' a Boomer and a Spitter AT THE SAME TIME!! Now don't ask me how they all managed to squeeze into the same boat cuz-"

Nick smacked the mechanic on the back of the head.

"Dumbshit!" the conman roared, "It's because Coach and Ro have been clearing a path for us! They're out there risking their lives and here you are goofing around like an asshole!"

"Gee, I never thought about that," the boy's voice was heavy with guilt.

"That's cuz you suck," Nick snapped.

Ellis didn't speak anymore after that.

* * *

"So this is where the party's at," Nick whispered as the two men approached the entrance to a barn/petting zoo. The stench was overwhelming as they peered into the gloomy structure. Piles of blood-drenched hay littered the floor. The mutilated corpses of farm animals were scattered throughout the room as if blown apart by the force of a small bomb. Nick noticed the fallen body of an exotic emu next to the door. A messy slash wound had nearly split the giant bird in half as it traveled from the top of its graceful neck down past its belly. The black and indigo iridescence of its once handsome facial plumage was now caked in the same acidic mixture of vomit and feces that slathered nearly every inch of the walls within. Approximately one hundred zombies were variously: consuming the animal corpses, fighting each other, holding their heads in pain, regurgitating, and shambling aimlessly amidst the putrid mess.

"Jesus Christ," Nick puffed his cheeks and forcefully blew the air out of his lungs.

Amazingly, he noticed two enormous pigs that were still alive- although injured. Due to the abundance of flesh within the barn, most of the infected had eaten their fill. Apparently the sated zombies could distinguish between human targets and animals, leaving the pigs to lie in their pen safely-for the moment- in a state of shock.

"Nick, what are we going to do?" Ellis stammered weakly. The unsightly scene had simultaneously mesmerized and repulsed the mechanic, triggering waves of nausea that served to intensify the pain in his shoulder and back.

The conman wracked his brain. He was frustrated and annoyed with both the current predicament and with the boy standing next to him.

_Why do I always have to come up with the plans?_

No matter how hard Nick had tried to push the mechanic away with various insults, he realized the opposite effect was taking place. Ellis seemed to cling closer to him, placing more and more of his faith and trust in the older man.

Nick looked once more at the emu in front of him, and began to carefully drag the body out of the grimy barn and into the clearer night air.

"Give me back my sword for a second."

The katana in hand, Nick proceeded to eviscerate the bird with such uncanny efficiency that it prompted Ellis to comment.

"You done this before Nick?"

"Yeah, and I'll do it to you if you don't keep quiet."

With the squishy mass of entrails removed, the conman handed the sword back to Ellis and hefted the ninety-pound bird into a more upright position. The boy's eyes widened as Nick crawled underneath the empty cavity of the emu's chest.

"There goes my suit…again. Come on, Overalls."

The mechanic followed his example and crawled underneath the bird with the conman. The body cavity was stiflingly hot and incredibly cramped. Ellis pressed himself closely against Nick to avoid the discomfort of ribs poking into his sides.

"Alright Ellis. Just follow my lead. Move slowly, and maybe they won't notice us."

"How can they not notice us?" the boy whispered. He could barely breathe due to the lack of air and the horrible smell.

"Alright, they'll notice us, but maybe they won't care. You saw those pigs in there, right? Look Overalls, this is just about the craziest shit I've ever tried to pull and that's saying a lot. But we're too injured to fight this many zombies in such a small space. Just trust me on this one."

"I trust you."

The two men would have laughed if they could see themselves as they made their way through the barn. An enormous six-legged bird- its head and neck flopping about- was slowly shoving past the crowds of seemingly oblivious zombies. But unfortunately, Nick could barely see or hear anything at all. Occasionally he quickly poked his head out to get his bearings straight and grab a much-needed breath of relatively fresh air. Such luxuries, however, were unavailable to poor Ellis.

"I think I see the door, Overalls. We're almost home free!"

The only response Nick received was a slight pat on his shoulder. He could only guess at the amount of discomfort the boy was in. As they exited the barn, Nick suddenly felt his feet bump into something and both he and Ellis tumbled over one another, losing their emu costume in the process.

A horrifically high-pitched scream stopped Nick's heart and coursed through him like a bolt of lightning.

"WITCH!!!!"

Without thinking, Nick shoved the emu's corpse into the Witch as she rose to her feet, knocking her slender body backwards. He then grabbed Ellis, who was disoriented by the fall and the lack of oxygen while still inside the bird, and dragged the mechanic towards a ladder leading to the roof of the barn.

"Up Overalls, UP!!" he yelled, pushing the mechanic upwards.

The boy came to his senses and practically flew up the ladder and onto the roof. The commotion had alerted all of the zombies within the building, and they were stampeding out of the barn, crushing one another as they wedged themselves through the doors. Nick readied his assault rifle and realized the monsters were climbing onto the roof from all sides. He saw the Witch down below, slashing through the herd of frenzied infected in her attempt to murder him. He fired at her until the first wave of zombies made it onto the roof and surged towards him. The conman lost sight of the Witch as he struggled to shove his oppressors away.

While dispatching them as quickly as he could, Nick's eyes darted continually towards the ladder he believed the Witch would use to scale the roof. His heart slammed into the wall of his chest with frenzied speed as a second wave of infected approached him. One of the zombies struck the side of his face, knocking him off balance and he nearly fell off the side of the roof. Steadying himself once more, the conman blasted through them as a stream of his own blood made its way into his left eye.

In the split second it took him to wipe the blood away, the Witch had appeared directly in front of him. Behind her was a third wave of zombies. Nick yelled as he lifted the rifle to protect his face from the Witch's talons. They raked his hands and knocked the rifle away. As the Witch descended upon him, Nick was shoved forcefully to the side. As he rolled twice, a deafening shotgun blast startled him back onto his feet.

He saw the Witch's headless body tumble down the side of the roof.

Ellis roared in triumph, but was immediately swallowed by the third wave of infected. The conman barreled into the horde, knocking several of them off the roof with the guitar. He somehow managed to find his rifle amidst the chaos and blasted away at the zombies surrounding the screaming mechanic. Nick hoisted the boy up and the two survivors continued their desperate defense as wave after wave came crashing towards them.

With the warmth of Ellis' back pressed firmly against his own, Nick suddenly felt invincible.

The two men were planted firmly at the apex of the rooftop, each one serving as an anchor for the other as they fired into the swirling maelstrom of zombies surrounding them.

_We're doing it! We're actually going to make it through this!_ Nick thought.

Out of nowhere, a Smoker's icy tongue wrapped around his neck and dragged him down the side of the roof. The wheezing infected was perched on an adjacent rooftop, and as it reeled Nick in, the conman found himself suspended in mid air. He grasped the tongue with his torn fingers in an attempt relieve the pressure and to keep it from breaking his neck. However, the tongue was slick with mucus and he couldn't get a firm grip on it. Nick looked up at the stars amidst the narrow stretch of sky visible to him between the two roofs.

_That's it…its over._

Suddenly, he saw a slender object shoot across the sky and felt himself falling the rest of the short distance to the ground. As he removed the tongue, he became aware of loud music blaring in the distance.

"WELL I'M A HALF-TON SON OF A GUN WITH A SUITCASE FULL OF PISTOLS AND MONEY…"

Nick sprinted around the side of the barn while zombies rained down around him. The remaining infected were all running off towards the source of the sound. The conman bumped into Ellis at the top of the ladder.

"Nick you're ok!!" the boy beamed before laying down on the roof.

From where he was standing, the conman could see the Smoker- the katana impaled through its open mouth.

"I owe you one, Overalls."

"You owe me twice," Ellis chuckled knowingly, waving his shotgun in the air. "Listen Nick, it's the Midnight Riders! Those guys rock!"

Fireworks shot into air from the Peach Pit stadium ahead of them, and Ellis sang along to the music until the vibration of helicopter blades stopped him.

"Holy shit we're rescued!" the boy yelled as no fewer than three choppers approached them. Two of the helicopters flew past and continued towards the stadium. The third chopper circled the rooftop and hovered above the two men. When a rope ladder descended towards them, they quickly scaled it. Ellis couldn't contain himself and hugged Nick in excitement and relief.

"Whoa, whoa! Personal space!" Nick yelled.

"Sorry man, I'm just so damn happy!"

The chopper suddenly shuddered violently. The conman looked down to see gloved hands lifting their enormous owner onto the escape vehicle.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Nick roared as the clown lunged.


	5. Chapter 5

~Ellis~

Hovering only ten feet or so above the barn rooftop, the helicopter rocked violently as the clown pounced on the mechanic. Nick had been shoved aside and was dangling over the edge of the chopper.

The old hag back at the tunnel had been so badly mutilated that the clown had to identify her by smell. So it began a demented crusade for vengeance, stalking the boy and waiting for the best opportunity to rip him apart.

Ellis stared at the clown in terror, and closed his eyes as the creature brought its horrible face close to his own. He felt an enormous hand grab his head and pin it to the floor, exposing his neck. The boy cried out as slimy drool dripped into his ear.

"Deliciousssssss"

Ellis' eyes shot open as the baritone whisper vibrated throughout his skull, ending in a hiss that wrapped itself around his brain like a serpent.

"The best I have ever tasted…perfect for her…"

"You're not supposed to talk!!" the boy was hysterical, "Don't talk! Please don't talk!" he cried.

"She's dead," the clown muttered, more to himself than to Ellis, "Dead."

A bullet buried itself into the clown's back just as it was about to tare into the mechanic's neck. The beast turned and threw itself at the pilot who had fired his gun. Ellis could hear more shots being fired as he scrambled to lift Nick back into the chopper. The conman grabbed the guitar and was at the clown immediately, breaking the instrument with the ferocity of his blows. Releasing its grip on the pilot, the clown slammed a fist into Nick's temple, knocking the now unconscious man into Ellis.

Suddenly, the helicopter pitched forward, causing the clown to stumble. As the chopper took off and swung around, the beast staggered out the side and landed back on the barn roof.

***

"Hey buddy," Ellis was relieved when the conman finally opened his eyes. The boy had laid Nick on the seats, his lap serving as a pillow for the older man. Whenever there had been turbulence or even a stronger than normal gust of wind, he had gripped Nick tightly to keep him from falling out the side.

"Where am I?!" Nick yelled as he quickly sat up.

"It's ok, we're on the chopper. No need to worry now," Ellis said gently, trying to calm the other man down.

"The clown?"

"Won't be botherin' us no more thanks to Brian here," the boy chuckled and motioned to the pilot. He handed Nick a bottle of water and looked excitedly out the side of the helicopter, "Brian's gonna take us all the way to New Orleans!"

"Great," Nick said after chugging the bottle, "Wake me up when we get there."

Ellis continued to stare dreamily at the scenery below him. He felt good enough to completely relax and melted into his seat, eyes half closed. But whenever he would nod off, the snarling face of the clown and occasionally the old woman, would stir him fitfully from true sleep. He remained in that hazy, half conscious state for nearly an hour before an amorphous gray blob passed in front of his blurred vision. A tiny splash of bright pink caused his eyes to focus. Another helicopter was flying parallel to theirs, and Ellis could just make out the two people in the back seat.

"ROCHEEEEEEEELLE!!! COOOOOOOOOAH!!!" The boy was bouncing up and down in his seat, flailing his arms like a lunatic.

"HOWDY YAAAAAALL!!"

"They can't hear you dumbass!" Nick growled, "But I sure as shit can! I'm having the worst migraine of my life right now and I'll kick your ass out the side of this God damn chopper if you don't shut your mouth!" The conman massaged his head with his fingers and sighed as Ellis laughed and continued to wave excitedly at the other helicopter.

When he finally caught Rochelle's attention, he giggled so maniacally that he felt Nick punch the back of his head. Smarting from the blow, Ellis still managed to smile at the woman as she waved and blew him a kiss.

"We'll all be together again soon," the boy assured himself. He closed his eyes and slept for a while. This time the clown didn't keep him awake.

"Get back!" Both Nick's voice and the rocking motion of the helicopter startled Ellis from his slumber. Puzzled, he observed the scene unfolding in front of him. The pilot had left the controls, his right arm was clutching his side and his left arm clutched Nick's jacket. His face was milky white.

"Brian! Nice ta' see ya back here brother, but shouldn't ya be flyin' the chopper right about now?"

The pilot stared at him with wide, terrified eyes before doubling over.

"I need help...I'm hurt really badly," he groaned.

Ellis jumped to the pilot's side and wrapped an arm around the man to steady him.

"You're gonna be fine, just tell ol' Ellis what's wrong with ya."

"Get away from him, Overalls! He's turning into a zombie." Nick barked.

"I just want to see my little girls…my wife…" the pilot whispered. A lump formed in Ellis' throat.

His nerves shot from the experience at the carnival, Nick grabbed the pilot's own pistol and pointed it at his head. The helicopter had begun to descend rapidly.

"No! He's not a zombie, he's just hurt!" Ellis screamed as he positioned himself between the pilot and the pistol.

"And how do you think he got hurt? The clown must have bitten him. Step away from him. Now!"

"The clown wasn't infected!" Ellis shouted. His mind raced.

_That thing talked to me. Zombies can't talk can they?_

"Please…please help," the pilot whimpered as he suddenly grabbed the boy's injured shoulder with enough force to cause Ellis to cry out in surprise and pain.

"OVERALLS GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!!!!"  
As the helicopter spun out of control, Nick grabbed the boy by the throat and forcefully shoved him into the back seat. He shot the pilot in the forehead and jumped to the front of the chopper, wrestling desperately with the controls.

As the chopper disappeared into the misty swamps below, the second helicopter changed course, looking for a safe way to follow.

***

"I can't believe it, Nick. Can't believe it."

The young man stared at the gambler staring right back at him with a look as rotten as the log he was sitting on. Ellis turned back to the pilot he was kneeling before and carefully removed a wedding ring from a cold, stiff finger, placing it in the pocket of his overalls. The boy hoped that someday, somehow, if they were rescued the ring would find its way back to the pilot's family- a small memento of the loved one they had lost.

"Look who's stealing from zombies now," the conman laughed darkly.

Ellis glared at Nick. No matter how hard he had tried to convince the older man that the pilot wasn't infected, Nick was unyielding in the justification of his actions in the helicopter.

"For the last time Ellis, I killed a zombie. Same way we've been killing them since this God damn nightmare started. Now let's go." Nick stood up and started walking away from the wreckage. The mechanic sighed and shook his head.

"We have to bury him first."

"Fuck that!" Nick countered, "We don't have time for this bullshit."

"It's not bullshit," there was a dead seriousness in the boy's tone that made the conman stop cold in his tracks. "While you were unconscious in the chopper, Brian and I talked for a little while. He told me 'bout his family and how he had helped rescue three other folks before us. The man was a hero. Even if he was turnin' into a zombie-which he wasn't- he saved our lives. So have some respect!"

"Fine," Nick snapped as he sat back down on the log. "Have fun burying him."

Ellis slowly vanished into the soft, grimy soil as he dug a hole with his bare hands. Nick watched with crossed arms as the boy finally crawled out and sat panting for several minutes. His body was covered in dirt-quickly becoming mud as it mixed with his sweat- nearly from head to toe. Through intense effort and care, the mechanic somehow managed to keep his hat clean, and removing it from his head, he slowly approached the pilot's body.

"You were a good man, you will be missed," then to the conman, "Help me lower him in Nick."

"No."

The boy lowered his head and sighed heavily. Without Nick's help, it would be nearly impossible to lower the pilot into the ground in a manner that was gentle and respectful. He looked at Nick with soulful, watery eyes.

"Please."

"No."

By the time Ellis was done burying the pilot, he was exhausted and emotionally fragile. He was completely silent as he followed Nick through the swampy muck. He had no idea where he was, and no idea where he was going, and apparently neither did the conman. In the excitement of seeing the helicopter back at the carnival, Ellis had forgotten to retrieve his katana, leaving him to rely on a pump shotgun low on ammo. The pilot's pistol had replaced Nick's broken guitar, but like Ellis, his assault rifle was dangerously low on ammo.

"Any idea where we are, Overalls? You look like the type of kid who would play in these swamps. I mean, this is practically your backyard isn't it? Don't you have any family around here?"

Ellis merely shook his head slowly, his hat pulled down over his eyes. Savannah was nowhere near these swaps. Of course he didn't know where they were, and he didn't like what the conman was implying so he didn't say anything. His heart ached for Coach and Rochelle and he fought back tears thinking he would never see them again.

Once again, the conman was the only person he could hold on to, but the boy was growing weary of the barrage of insults and snide remarks that Nick continuously hurled at him. Every time he opened his mouth it seemed, the older man would tare him a new one, or at the very least silence him. A jolt of pain suddenly surged through his wounded shoulder.

_He hates you._

Ellis mulled over the now familiar thoughts prowling around in his head.

"Hold up." Nick whispered. The two men stood quietly as the sound of snapping branches and sloshing footsteps could be heard approaching.

The stretch of swampland they had been traversing for hours now was brutally dense with foliage and fetid muck. It was the kind of place that was obviously uninhabited, and as such, no zombies had bothered them. Although it was just slightly past mid afternoon, the pervasive clouds of mist and swamp gas had enveloped the men in perpetual dusk. Whatever was approaching the two survivors would remain unseen until it was practically on top of them.

Ellis kept his weary eyes peeled as he pumped his shotgun. He nearly jumped out of his skin as a very human voice called out behind him.

"Well I'll be damned!"

He turned to see a man and woman slowly emerging like ghosts from the fog. The man appeared to be only slightly older than the mechanic with long, disheveled, dark blonde hair and matching scraggly facial scruff. Quite tall and lanky, he was armed with a shotgun of his own and had an axe strapped to his back. The woman was short with long brown hair, small attractive facial features, and the brightest blue eyes Ellis had ever seen. She would have been slender, if not for the fact that she was heavily pregnant.

"Hello there!" the mechanic approached them with a huge grin, "The name's Ellis. It's nice to see some friendly faces for a change."

The mood was dampened somewhat as Nick approached with his rifle pointed at the male stranger's face.

"Well Goddamn, Nick! Put that thing down! These are obviously good people."

The conman ignored the boy.

"Prove you're immune!" he barked.

The couple exchanged confused glances and then turned to Ellis.

"We ain't changin' inta' no monsters, if that's what yer friend means," the man said with an even heavier accent than the mechanic. He then turned slowly to reveal the numerous sratches and bites that had shredded both his t-shirt and the skin of his back underneath. The axe strapped to his shoulders was caked with blood and gore.

"Fought plenty of 'em though."

"Ya' see Nick?" the mechanic said softly as he pushed down on the conman's rifle with his hand. He was shoved back rather forcefully as Nick turned his attention to the young woman.

"What about you?"

The girl cocked her head coyly and lowered the collar of her shirt. A small smile crept across the corner of her lips. She had noticed the conman's face twitch slightly as the top of her cleavage became visible. Although small and shallow, there was a bite mark on her chest that was scabbed over and already starting to heal.

Satisfied, Nick lowered his gun and took a couple of steps back.

"My name's Lily and this is my fiancé, Jonah."

"Call me Joe," the man said with a nod.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lily and Joe. Like I said, the name's Ellis and this is Nick. Please excuse him, we've had a rough time fightin' zombies but he's a nice guy once you get to know 'im." Ellis questioned his own words as soon as they came out of his mouth. What he should have said was, 'This is Nick. He's a grade A asshole. He hates me and he probably hates you too.'

"Pleasure to meet you too, cutie pie!" Lily said as she reached out and grabbed Ellis' ear, squeezing it and giving it a gentle wiggle. The mechanic stammered and blushed before giving Joe a sheepish look. The woman's fiancé merely crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

According to the couple, they were in Mississippi. The newcomers were headed towards the river, where several boats were ferrying survivors to safety, and the two men decided to follow them.

"We should all look out for blood farmers, seriously." Ellis spoke up as they approached a particularly deep section of the swamp. Lily gasped upon hearing the mechanic's words.

"Ellis, what the fuck?" Nick demanded.

"Never heard a' blood farmers, eh? Instead a' crops, they grow people…ta' eat." The boy's mood had lifted with the added company, and he was feeling more like his playful self. Suddenly, Joe disappeared into the murky water and a crimson plume of his blood surged up to the surface.

"Oh, dear God! Someone help him!" Lily shrieked.

Before Ellis or Nick could react, the man had resurfaced.

"My leg!" He screamed, only to be dragged back under. A massive, dark form thrashed beneath the now turbulent liquid.

"Gator! Gator! Gator!" Ellis hooted as he dove in after the man.

"God damn it!" Nick yelled as he grabbed Lily and lifted her out of the water. Placing her gently on a log, he commanded her to stay there as he sloshed in after the two men.

Swimming frantically below the surface, Ellis spotted what had to be the largest alligator he had ever seen rolling violently with the leg of the unfortunate Joe in its jaws. He grabbed the reptile's tail in an attempt to make his way along the animal's body towards the head, but the gator knocked him away. After surfacing for a quick breath, the boy again grabbed the gator, this time by the beast's mid section. He tried to reach for the shotgun on his back, but the gator rolled once more and the mechanic tightened his grip on the reptile. He could barely wrap his arms around the creature as he tumbled with it through the water. He pounded desperately at the animal's belly as he rode the beast like a scaly horse.

As Nick approached the fray, he noticed Joe swimming frantically towards him. He hoisted the man out of the water to discover that everything below Joe's right knee was gone.

Rough scales scraped against Ellis' chest and stomach as he hung on for dear life. The leviathan's fury had grown even more intense as it thrashed about to throw off the annoyance on its back. The boy's lungs longed for air. He had noticed that Joe was no longer in the water, but didn't want to let go of the gator for fear it would turn on him.

A muffled explosion stopped the gator cold. The boy released his grip and surfaced to find Nick holding Joe's shotgun.

"Whew weee! That was fun, Nick!"

The group eventually reached a small town at the edge of the swamp. Ellis had supported Joe's weight as the poor man hobbled along in excruciating pain. Lily, being the driest member of the group, had ripped a portion of her shirt to wrap around her fiancé's leg like a tourniquet. When that hadn't helped to stop the bleeding, Ellis followed her example and also contributed a portion of his shirt to wrap around the man's stump of a leg.

"Hey, anybody here?" the boy yelled as they approached the center of the town.

In response to Ellis' voice, a Spitter emerged from one of the ruined buildings and shot a ball of gunk at the group. The mechanic grabbed Joe and pulled him away from the pool of acid spreading across the ground. Nick and Lily had moved to the opposite side of the goo when a large throng of infected poured out of the windows and doors of the abandoned houses.

Ellis placed Joe on the ground and stood in front of the man. The boy readied his shotgun as the zombies surrounded him. He fired, shoved, and punched frantically, but despite his best effort, the mechanic couldn't keep every zombie away from the injured man. He could hear Joe slashing away with his axe at the infected that managed to slip behind him. Ellis' fury increased with every grunt of pain that escaped from Joe's mouth. The man's life was in his hands.

"TANK!!" the boy heard Nick yell from across the wall of zombies that now separated the two pairs of survivors.

Ellis swore as he saw the hulking form rushing directly towards him and Joe.

_RUN! RUN! RUN!_ He couldn't think of anything else.

Ellis made his way over to Joe. Zombies were still pummeling him from all angles, but he had to get the helpless man away from the Tank. Joe looked up at the boy with a hollow expression. The mechanic could barely hear the man above the chaotic screams and roars.

"Just leave me, Ellis! I can't move!"

"No," the boy said through gritted teeth. Without thinking, Ellis lifted the much larger man up and slung him over his shoulder- the shoulder that had been ripped open by the old woman.

Ellis screamed and almost dropped Joe, but he somehow managed to surge forward. The portion of the horde that was following him continued to pound his back- and Joe's head-with gusto. Ellis winced as the full weight of the other man pressed on his shoulder with each bounding stride. Joe was still swinging his axe at the relentless zombies.

"Oh man, the big one's catchin' up!!" he heard the man yell.

Ellis' side was cramping, his legs were on fire, and his shoulder felt like it was falling off. The only positive was the fact that the horde behind him was largely gone. Unfortunately, they were gone because the Tank that was now practically on top of them had bulldozed the other infected out of the way. The behemoth swung its arm, just barely missing the two men.

_MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! _Ellis repeated the words over and over in his head until the small voice whispering in his ear nearly stopped his heart.

"Goodbye Ellis. Thank you so much. Tell Lily that I love her…"

With every last ounce of his strength, Joe flung his axe into the Tank's face. The momentum of the man's thrust threw Ellis off balance. Joe fell off of the boy's shoulder and Ellis staggered for several more strides before tumbling head over heels.

The axe's blade had pieced the frontal lobe of the Tank's brain. It towered over Joe and crushed the man's chest with its fists with such force that Joe's body sank several inches into the earth. The Tank then slumped over, dying before its body hit the ground.

Ellis crawled over to Joe. The man's chest had completely caved in, and his shattered rib cage jutted out of his skin. The boy let out an inhuman roar. He pulled the axe out of the Tank's head and hacked away at the beast's corpse, screaming in fury with every swipe.

The rage boiling inside him from this God damned apocalypse…Joe's death…the separation from his family, Keith, Coach, and Rochelle… and that cruel, arrogant, selfish, asshole Nick who didn't give a shit about him even though he had been nothing but kind to him…Ellis released it all onto the Tank until he passed out.

***

The mechanic found himself lying on a dusty couch. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Lily sobbing into Nick's chest on the other side of the small room.

His own chest tightened as he watched the conman wrap his arms around the woman in a gentle, comforting way. He closed his eyes and pretended to still be asleep as the two of them walked past him and entered another room.

Ellis' heart sank as he watched Nick peel off his jacket and shirt.

The door closed behind them, leaving the boy alone in the dark, moldy room.


	6. Chapter 6

~Nick~

"Bullshit!" the conman yelled before diving into the underbrush as a two thousand pound beast rampaged past him. Its cloven hooves dug into the earth and with surprising nimbleness, carried the monster towards him once more. Pointed ears swiveled wildly above the tiny, glowing embers of its eyes. Nick fired a flurry of shots, waiting till the last second before dodging. This time the monster stopped and pawed the ground, snorting deeply through enormous nostrils. The immense cauldron of a mouth simmered and spewed a frothy concoction of slime and bacteria. A lofty hump, covered in sores and weeping boils, jutted from between the iron slabs of its shoulder blades.

The trio had decided to move on after spending the night in a small house in the abandoned town. Like Brian before him, Ellis had insisted on burying Joe but Lily convinced him otherwise. There were simply too many zombies prowling about so they had headed once more into the swamps towards the river- where they thought they were relatively safe.

"Giant, mutant zombie hog!" Ellis shouted almost with glee.

"Dandy," the conman hissed, "Just dandy."

The creature turned its attention to Ellis after hearing the boy yell. Ellis expertly climbed the trunk of a dying tree to avoid being skewered by jagged, ebony tusks the length and thickness of his arms.

The boy was down to nothing but Joe's axe, which he had vowed to hang on to for the rest of his zombie fighting days. Unfortunately, those days seemed just about to end as the monster pressed its head against the tree trunk. So great was the hog's bulk that the tree splintered and buckled against the weight. Nick charged as the tree crashed to the ground, firing nearly all the shots that remained in his assault rifle. His bullets hit the hog in the face and neck as the creature sifted through the branches that had buried the mechanic.

Determined to make his final shots count, the conman came dangerously close to the monster's head. Before he could press the trigger, the hog swung its head, causing the edge of its tusk to slice Nick's chest. The rifle went flying as he staggered backwards. Instead of finishing the conman off, the hog brushed past him and headed straight for Lily.

The girl had emitted a scream so piercing that it shattered the very air with the height of its pitch. The hog's sensitive ears seemingly commanded the beast to eliminate the source of that awful sound.

The tiny woman kept her feet firmly planted to the ground as she grabbed the rifle that had landed at her feet. Up to that moment, the girl had watched the scene unfold in terror as her two companions fell to the monster's might. As a creature more than fifteen times her weight barreled towards her, Lily calmly raised the rifle up.

She knew enough to realize that there was almost nothing left inside the gun she now aimed at the space between the monster's eyes. Perhaps there was _nothing_ left. She also knew that she couldn't leap safely out of the hog's path without endangering the life of her son- the son who, at that very moment was signaling to his mother that he was ready to be born. She pressed the trigger and three bullets began their lightning fast journey towards their target. One buried itself into the hog's eye- the others into its skull.

Instantly, the creature's legs stopped functioning, causing the hog to tumble haphazardly through the muck. Stepping quickly to her left, Lily managed to avoid the hog's cartwheeling carcass and made her way over to the two men.

***

When the conman came to his senses, night had fallen and he was lying near a small fire. As he stared down at his bandaged chest, he could hear Ellis and Lily whispering several feet away behind a large boulder.

"He loved you…those were his final words."

"I miss him so much and I feel terrible about what I did last night."

Nick's eyes narrowed as he silently approached the boulder.

"Yeah," he heard the mechanic say in a tone that was difficult to decipher, "I don't think Joe woulda' 'preciated that."

As Lily began to sob, the boy continued to speak in a gentle tone.

"Joe was a good man. I think you should take the time to mourn him properly and stay away from Nick."

The conman gritted his teeth. It took every ounce of his willpower to keep him from jumping over the boulder and beating the kid to a pulp. He made his way exhaustedly back over to the fire and the spot where he had been sleeping. He laid back down and stared at the flames. After a while, he heard Ellis and Lily approaching. He waited patiently for the mechanic to fall asleep so he could pull Lily close to him.

To his surprise, the boy remained by the woman's side for hours. His patience wearing thin, Nick stared at the two forms barely illuminated by the dying flames.

Ellis was sitting cross-legged. His body rocked back and forth unsteadily and his head bobbed up and down in his struggle to stay awake. Lily was lying on her side, and every so often she would shift her weight uncomfortably.

Finally, the mechanic toppled onto his back, snoring heavily. This seemed to disturb Lily and she pulled herself up to a more seated position. Nick motioned for her to come to him, but she shook her head firmly.

The conman growled. He would deal with this bullshit in the morning.

***

"Where the hell is she?" the Nick demanded. The girl was nowhere to be found.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Ellis was obviously panicked. "This is not good man, especially with the baby of the way!"

Suddenly everything made sense to Nick- the way Ellis had tried to stay up with Lily last night, the way her breathing had been so _labored_.

"Why didn't you tell me she was ready to give birth? Why didn't she tell me?"

"Well damn, Nick you were out cold last night and anyways, after Lily told me her water was broke, she told me not ta' tell you."

The gears in the conman's head were spinning feverishly as he recalled the mechanic's words to Lily during the night- how he had advised her to stay away from him. If that meddling little bastard hadn't said that, she would have been lying next to _him_ last night. He would have protected her from whatever it was that had taken her away.

Nick was absolutely livid.

"Besides Nick, you knew how pregnant she was," the boy continued, and muttering under his breath, "I mean you did sleep with her for Christ's sake."

Something snapped inside Nick's head.

He lunged at Ellis and grabbed him by his shirt collar, pulling him up to eye level. The mechanic's feet dangled three inches above the ground.

"Are you _jealous_ Overalls?" Nick hissed.

The boy's face instantly flushed to the shade of a fire engine. His gaze darted to the left to avoid the accusing stare of Nick's blazing eyes.

"Is that it, Ellis? Do you want my attention?" the conman continued cruelly. "Well you're about to get a whole lot of it. RIGHT NOW!!!"

He punched Ellis squarely in the cheek.

As the boy crumpled to the ground, the older man kicked him savagely in the ribs before descending upon him. Nick lost total control of his rational mind as he landed punch after punch into the boy's forehead- his temples- his cheeks- his jaw- his nose. The boy took every hit without fighting back. He didn't even lift his hands to protect himself as his head bounced up and down repeated against ground from Nick's vicious onslaught.

"Do you still like me now, Overalls?!" Nick's eyes flashed with a frightening light as he leaned into the boy's battered face. "What else do I have to do to make you hate me, huh?! I want you to hate me as much as I hate you!"

He then spat into Ellis' bleeding face and slapped him with the back of his hand. Only then did he rise to his feet, realizing that he had been kneeling on the boy's chest and stomach.

As he panted heavily from his exertion, Nick looked down at the mechanic's rapidly swelling face. The conman actually thought it would be satisfying to beat the shit out of the kid.

It wasn't.

Nick suddenly became aware of the eyes staring up at him. Not quite blue, not quite hazel- Ellis' eyes were a curious, complicated shade somewhat gray and bright- oh how bright they seemed right now.

A knot formed in the conman's stomach. How psychotic of him to be admiring the boy's eyes now as he lay battered and bleeding on the ground thanks to him. Nick grabbed fistfuls of his own hair as a sickening feeling of regret washed over him so suddenly that he couldn't handle it.

Those eyes continued to stare at him, so filled with pain- none of it physical. He couldn't look into Ellis' eyes for another second.

So Nick turned around and ran away.


	7. Chapter 7

~Nick~

After immersing himself deeply within the swamp's interior, the gambler wandered aimlessly for hours and eventually happened upon a small, rickety shed. He pried open the door and slammed it closed behind him. A few beams of sunlight crisscrossed throughout the interior via gaps and cracks in the dilapidated wooden structure. Otherwise it was musty, cramped, dark, and save for him, abandoned- a perfect place for the conman to gather his composure.

Running away had always been Nick's preferred method of dealing with his problems. Now that he was too exhausted to run any further, the man was reluctant to sit and deal with the aftermath of his actions.

He looked around at the confines of the tiny room, searching for anything of use but found nothing- nothing that he could use against zombies or whatever the hell else was lurking in these swamps…nothing to distract him from the thoughts that threatened to flood through his brain. He successfully kept those thoughts at bay for a while, concentrating instead on sweeping back his disheveled hair and obsessively removing and replacing the rings on his fingers.

Nick looked down at his pant pocket and pulled out an item he had stuffed into it. He examined the item carefully for a while before putting it back in its place.

What in the hell was he doing here?

Lily was missing, maybe even dead. Ellis was…

_Fuck_

And here he was, hiding in a God damned shed. Whatever it was that had possessed him- he had to snap out of it. He rose quickly and placed his hand on the doorknob, but where was he going to go? He had no idea where Lily was, and now that he had lost himself in the swamps, he couldn't find his way back to Ellis even if he tried.

Nick scowled. He was frustrated with himself, and it was an unpleasant, unfamiliar feeling. His thoughts turned to the girl.

Did he love her?

No.

That was the short answer. He had known her for all of two and a half days. She was beautiful and sweet, so there was potential for something more. As far as sleeping with her, the conman simply had an itch that needed scratching. The woman had been vulnerable, and he merely needed to play the role of the sensitive protector to get her to comply. He didn't regret that one bit, but it didn't mean that he wasn't concerned for the girl's safety. He was concerned. The girl was pregnant- in labor for God's sake. If only he had some kind of clue to her whereabouts.

And then there was Ellis.

"Stupid little bastard!" he yelled before punching one of the walls.

Nick wiped away the sweat that had suddenly drenched his brow. He couldn't deal with those emotions just yet, so he opened the shed door and found himself staring into the barrel of a shotgun.

"Whoa, shit!" the conman exclaimed as he raised his hands slowly into the air. "Easy there killer, I'm not a threat."

The man at the other end of the barrel was shorter than average- about Ellis' height. He looked to be in his late fifty's or early sixty's with gleaming, silver hair pulled back into a ponytail that reached his waist. A pair of bifocals rested above his aquiline nose. They were so thick that they blew up his eyes to four times their actual size.

"Well sorry 'bout that sir. Can never be too careful in these swamps." The man lowered his gun and danced a little jig before extending his hand. "The name's Harvey, what's yours?"

The conman cocked an eyebrow, then relaxed and shook the strange man's hand, "It's Nick. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be going."

"Wouldn't happen to be looking for some folks, would ya'?" the old man inquired suddenly.

Nick's eyes widened slightly.

"Cuz I found a pregnant woman who was injured. Also came across a boy wearin' a pair of overalls."

"And where are they now?" Nick demanded a bit too eagerly. The old man seemed to catch on.

"Oh, I can take ya' right to them…If ya' do me a little favor first."

The conman's eyes narrowed.

_Figures_

"Are they ok?" Nick asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

"They're fine, I assure you. We have medics in our facility. Both of your friends are being taken care of." Harvey began walking briskly towards a mass of brambles and bushes. The conman found himself following.

"Facility?" he implored.

"I belong to an organization of individuals who have banded together during these troubled times," the old man replied matter-of-factly.

The bushes cleared and Nick was found himself standing on a narrow trail. A humongous pick up truck was parked twenty feet away. Eight long, narrow steel cages were stacked on their sides in the bed of the truck.

"I'm goin' monster hunting!" The old man suddenly shouted with glee. A large grin spread across his face. "Help me catch eight of the bastards alive and I'll take you to your friends."

"Fine," Nick found himself saying.

There was something not quite right about the old man- he seemed more than a little off- crazy even. What the hell could the guy possibly want with live zombies, anyway? Nick was out of options. So as they approached the pickup, Harvey reached inside and handed him a pair of thick gloves, an old football helmet, and a garden hoe.

"To protect ya'self," the old man said with a wink.

"Yeah, thanks," the conman said sarcastically. The two men climbed inside the truck and flew down the weathered trail.

***

"That's it fella'! That's it!" Harvey yelled as Nick pummeled an infected man to the ground with the handle of the garden hoe. "Sheeeeeyooot your good!! Don't hit 'im too hard now! I want 'im alive, remember?"

Nick gritted his teeth. The crazy old bastard had repeated the words with every zombie he had attacked. Thankfully, this one made eight. The gloves actually provided a decent amount of protection as the conman shoved the rabid creature into the last empty cage. The sight of all of them thrashing and screaming in their stacked prison cells was unnerving.

"Now wasn't that a hoot?" the old man cackled as they climbed back into the truck.

The conman rolled his eyes, "Better than puffing a Gurkha HMR after a night of mind-blowing, condomless sex. Now tell me, why the hell did I just do this, and where the hell are Lily and Ellis?"

Harvey was silent for a while as they drove along. When he finally spoke, his voice was dripping with pride.

"I'm a hunter and trapper by trade. The best there is. Ever since the Fallen Ones started appearin', some of the critters in these swamps been startin' to change." The old man looked knowingly at Nick's wounded chest. "If I didn't know better, you had a run in with one of them monster hogs."

"Yeah, you could say that." Nick replied.

Harvey's eyes flashed and he grinned again. "Ha! Thought so. Been chasin' one of them big bastards for a week now…but I've also been hunting them Fallen Ones."

Nick furrowed his eyes at the strange term, "You mean the zombies?"

"Yup. My ol' ma' and pa', my sons and daughters, and even my little grandchildren- not one of them got the Sickness."

Harvey held a hand up to beat his chest, "Strong blood flowin' in our veins, but that didn't protect them from getting eaten alive by those motherfuckers. So now I round up the monsters and torture the shit out of 'em whenever I get the chance. Makes me feel a little better. As far as your friends go, we're almost there."

The man definitely had a few screws loose but hell, who didn't under these circumstances? Nick chuckled to himself. If this was how the old geezer dealt with the situation, who was he to judge?

They drove the rest of the way in silence. Try as he might, Nick couldn't stop himself from thinking about Ellis.

Why had he beaten the kid to a bloody pulp?

Because he was annoying.

That was the short answer. The boy was so damn positive all the time. It irked him. He had tried to push Ellis' buttons, tried to get the boy angry, sad, depressed even. In a way he wanted Ellis to share in the same misery that kept him up at night and it had worked.

Too damn well.

The boy was so innocent, so young, and here Nick was ruining his life. The conman had actually done this to several other people in his life- mostly his enemies, and also his ex-wife.

Man did he hate that bitch.

But to treat Ellis like one of them? Did he honestly hate the kid that much?

Nick eventually noticed a large building emerge from the surrounding gloom. It appeared to be some sort of factory from another era, long since abandoned. It had now been converted into a makeshift fortress. Two guards allowed the men to drive through the fortified front gates.

"Welcome to our humble little establishment. We'll take care of these monsters first and then I'll introduce you to the rest of our little group. We have tons of food and supplies, so your friends are well rested and well fed too."

Harvey drove around to the back of the building and asked Nick to help him unload the zombies from the truck.

"Daddy's home!" Harvey squawked as they dragged the cages into a storage room.

Nick was struck dumb by the sight of what had to be two hundred screaming, convulsing zombies- each one crammed into their own separate cage. They were stacked in rows and columns, filling the room to near maximum capacity. This guy was definitely a lunatic.

"Holy shit!!" the conman finally managed to say.

"Gotta keep the fuckers in their own cages, otherwise they'll rip each other to pieces." The old man slapped his knee and let out an enormous belly laugh. He then began to dance and frolic amongst the rows of cages like a demented little troll in his cave.

"Allright, enough!" Nick barked, "I've played your game, now pay up!"

Harvey stopped immediately at the conman's words.

"Yes, yes, yes. Follow me."

The conman followed the old geezer back around to the front of the building. Harvey pulled a remote out of his pocket and the large garage-style door began to rise. The old man entered first and as soon as Nick followed, he was seized from behind by three men and wrestled to the ground.

"What the fuck!?!" Nick roared as the men began removing his jacket, shirt, shoes, pants, _everything_. Nick tried to beat them off of him, but each one was much larger and stronger than he was.

"Take him to the chamber!" Harvey cackled.

Nick was dragged naked into a massive steel cage- thirty feet long, ten feet wide, and ten feet high- in the center of a very large room. The men chained him securely to the back of the structure. An enormous sheet descended from the ceiling and covered the conman's prison cell. Harvey emerged under the curtain and approached him.

"Prepare yourself for the grand festival!" he shouted as he waved his hands wildly in the air.

"I'M GONNA TEAR YOU TO PIECES YOU FUCKING LITTLE PSYCOPATH!!!!" Nick screamed as he thrashed about, straining against his chains. He was actually foaming at the mouth from his outrage.

"Quiet, you fool," Harvey replied in a loud, exaggerated whisper, "You'll disturb your fellow prisoner." He then ducked underneath the curtain and disappeared.

Nick snapped his neck to the left and noticed that another cage, just as large as his own was also underneath the large curtain. To his horror, Lily was chained to the back of that cage. Like him, she was completely naked.

She was wincing in pain, her body tensing from her contractions.

"Oh my God," the terrified whisper crawled out of the conman's voice box.

"Lily, are you hurt?" Nick said frantically, "I mean I know you're in pain right now, but did that bastard hurt you?"

The girl shook her head, still wincing and unable to speak.

"Is Ellis here too?"

Again the girl shook her head.

After hours upon hours of labor amidst such wretched circumstances, the girl was now giving birth before his very eyes.

~Ellis~

The mechanic lay where Nick had left him for a very long time before summoning the courage to rise. He wished that he could simply lie there for the rest of his life, but an awful feeling in his bones goaded him upward into a seated position. He held a hand tentatively up to his face, and hesitated before placing his fingers softly on his cheek. He was alarmed at how icy his hand felt- a testament to the intense, simmering heat radiating off of the battered surface.

He moved his fingers tenderly across the ruined contours of his once handsome visage. The boy's face was so swollen, in fact, that he could barely see- his eyes reduced to narrow slits. Aside from a dull, incessant throb perfectly in sync with his pulse, Ellis felt surprisingly little in the way of pain from his damaged countenance. That was a blessing- albeit a small one considering that he was drowning in an ocean of emotional turmoil.

The most painfully devastating blow had come in the form of an unimaginably, overwhelming sense of shame. It had crushed the boy before Nick even landed his first punch, causing him to lie there and absorb every subsequent strike without retaliating.

"I deserved it," he croaked. Although he was utterly alone at that moment, Ellis felt the overwhelming desire to voice what he believed to be an undeniable fact.

"I deserved it," he repeated.

Ellis replayed the scene over and over in his mind. What had he done to cause Nick to lash out at him? What had he said to fill the man with such fury? His shame was screaming out the answer.

_Are you jealous, Overalls?_

Ellis' arms flew up and he laced his fingers behind his head, pulling it down until his elbows rested on his knees. His hat had flown off during the attack and as he bowed his head, his somewhat curly hair swept down his forehead, coming to a stop around the narrow slits of his tearing eyes.

The boy found himself recalling a time when Nick had complemented Lily for beating a zombie to death with a thick tree branch…how he had patted her on the shoulder after she pushed him out of the path of a leaping hunter…how he had held her gently in his arms before leading her into that room…

Ellis wrestled himself away from those thoughts, but he found himself unable to resist.

How many zombies had _he_ killed? How many times had _he_ saved Nick from certain death? And what did he receive in return?

_OVERALLS, YOU GOD DAMNED INBRED SON OF A BITCH!!!_

Ellis moaned as he allowed himself to slump over once more. He beat his fist into the ground as he thought about how obnoxious he was. How immature he was. How loud he was. How pathetic he was.

"No wonder!" he wailed, "No wonder…"

Why should Nick give him the time of day? Why should the guy care about him especially now that a beautiful girl had come into the picture?

The boy cursed himself.

More importantly, why did _he_ care so much about Nick? Why did he long for the man's attention?  
Ellis forced himself to stop thinking. He was delving into the darkest corner of his psyche- a place that he really didn't want to go right now.

He fished around, half-blind for his hat but was unable to find it.

"Serves you right," he muttered bitterly to himself before jumping to his feet. He took off running madly through the treacherous swamp in the direction he thought Nick had gone.

_Do you still like me now, Overalls?_

Ellis was unsure about a lot of things in his life.

But the answer to that question was not one of them.


	8. Chapter 8

~Ellis~

The mechanic hid behind the fallen remains of an ancient tree, half buried in the acidic soil. He peered with squinted eyes over the decaying bark towards the sight that had filled him with an uncanny feeling of uneasiness. Not forty yards away, a procession of dark figures alternately emerged from and melted into the thick blanket of fog that had recently enveloped the swamp. There were seven of them altogether.

Dark brown, hooded robes covered five of the beings from head to toe. In front of them, the sixth, had a dark green robe and hood, while the seventh- who led the group- was adorned in black.

Although he could not see their faces, the boy knew that these people were not infected. They were far too steady and orderly, and seemed to move swiftly with a purpose. He hesitated. Something about the group definitely made him nervous, so he hunkered back down behind the tree trunk and waited for them to pass.

After a few moments, Ellis lifted his head once more, but to his dismay the group had stopped moving. They were all looking in his direction except for the leader in black who was no longer among them. The boy panicked and whirled around as he felt a gust of air behind him.

"What are you doing here, little one?" A voice that was simultaneously silky and gritty emerged from within the man's hood.

"I'm- I'm lost," Ellis found himself stammering softly.

"Lost? Well then let me help you find yourself." The man reached out his hand and Ellis took it. As he rose to his feet, the boy was shocked at how tall the robed man was. The top of the mechanic's head barely reached the man's shoulders. As he looked up, he tried to peer into the hood, but the shadows were too deep and he was unable to get a good look.

"Follow me." The man took his arm and led him so gently towards the rest of the group that Ellis didn't bother resisting. As he came to a stop in front of all of them, the mechanic fidgeted from the weight of all fourteen eyes resting on him.

"Uh, hello everyone. My name's Ellis…pleasure to meet all of you."

The boy reached up nervously to tug at the hat that was no longer on his head.

"I am Apollion, favored son of the Dawn," the tall man exclaimed with a high and mighty air as he removed his hood to reveal bright green eyes, a chiseled face, and thick, dark hair.

His resemblance to Nick was remarkable.

"Well that's a silly name!" Ellis chuckled.

Various snickers and jeers escaped from the five brown-robed men and women. The mechanic could see the man's ears flush pink as he turned to face the woman in green who had not laughed.

"Artemisia, take these insubordinates over by those rocks and flog them ten times each!!" This time his voice was all grit and no silk.

"With pleasure," the woman sneered as she led the now frightened group away.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean ta' insult you none," Ellis stammered nervously.

"That's not my _real_ name, you know," the man turned and looked down at the boy- his face and tone of voice soft once more.

"Oh, well what is it then?" the mechanic asked innocently.

"Nathaniel. You can call me Nate." The man reached down and placed a hand under Ellis' chin, "What happened to your face?" His voice was so genuinely full of concern that Ellis didn't feel like lying to him.

"My friend, I mean, this guy I was traveling with…" the boy sighed and blinked hard as he continued, "he beat me up pretty good, huh?"

Ellis' swollen face flushed more brightly as green eyes full of pity stared down at him.

"You should join us, little one," Nate's tone was almost fatherly, "You seem to be in need of a family that will take care of you. We are the Chosen Ones who have survived the Cleansing. We have not joined the ranks of the Fallen Ones."

Ellis didn't understand half of what Nate was telling him, but he seemed so nice, and he looked so much like Nick…

"Come with us, and I can initiate you into our family."

A cry of pain from one of the women being disciplined interrupted him and Nate grinned.  
"As you can see from the disgusting display of disrespect by these low level minions, insubordination is swiftly punished." Once again, his face softened as he looked down at the boy.

"But _you_ will have nothing to fear, Ellis. I will make you my special acolyte. Stick with me and you will advance very quickly over the likes of those fools."

The mechanic was ravenous, parched, and exhausted. Surely these people had food and supplies wherever they were headed. Once he was well rested, with food in his belly, he could resume his search for Nick and Lily.

"So what do you say, little one?"  
"Sounds good to me," Ellis smiled.

***

"What is this place?" the mechanic stared about in wonder at the size of the enormous room he was in. A group of about seventy-five people, all wearing robes, were filing in and kneeling on the ground in front of a small altar.

Nate led him closer to the altar and motioned for the boy to sit next to him on the ground. Ellis did as he was told and continued to stare at the hooded figures as they meditated and chanted strange words that he couldn't understand. This proceeded for quite a while until Nate stood up and walked behind the altar.

"My fellow Chosen Ones," he called out. His voice was slightly raised, but not excessively loud, "The Grand Festival is about to begin. Rise to your feet, the Master of Ceremonies has arrived."

Everyone stood as commanded and began clapping. Ellis stood as well, trying to get a good look at this 'Master.' He could see a man approaching in a long black robe. He wore thick glasses and had long white hair pulled back in a pony tail. The boy also noticed that he was leading a much smaller man by the hands. Nate continued to speak gravely.

"And with the Master is the Grand Ambassador who, if you remember, is the link between the realm of the Fallen Ones and our realm."

Ellis continued to strain his squinted eyes to see the Grand Ambassador as the old man led him through the crowd of the robed men and women who were now chanting in unison as they passed.

The mechanic could see that the diminutive man had a crooked back with a large hump near his neck. He was bald- save for a small patch of red hair near the back of his head, and had a huge toothy grin plastered to his face.

"The Fallen Ones have ravaged our old way of life and destroyed our families. They have even converted some of our loved ones to join their ranks, yet we have but tasted a small amount of the their wrath during the past few weeks. We must obey the Grand Ambassador's will lest he unleash the full wrath of the Fallen Ones upon us."

The Master stood on the stage behind the altar as Nate bowed quickly and rejoined Ellis. During this time, the Ambassador made his way next to the old man. If it weren't so swollen, the mechanic's face would have displayed a haunted expression as he stared open-mouthed at the altar in complete shock. The Master began to speak.

"Thank you Apollion. We shall now begin the ceremony with an exercise that symbolizes our obedience to the Ambassador's will," the old Master proclaimed as he squeezed the tiny man's arm, "What would you have us do Ambassador?" The red haired man laughed and started jumping.

"Dance!" the Master proclaimed. "He commands you to dance!" Suddenly the entire crowd- save Nate and Ellis- began twirling and dancing as a group of flute players played a tune in the background. The little man stopped jumping.

"Stop!" the Master commanded, "What else mighty Ambassador?" As the Master squeezed his hand, the Ambassador laughed and knelt on the ground.

"He commands you to pray!"

Ellis continued watching in disbelief as everyone dropped to their knees and began praying feverishly- to who or what, the boy didn't want to know. He wiped his brow before running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. These people were completely insane.

_They're taking orders from a Jockey! A FREAKIN' JOCKEY!!!_

Ellis' mind was swimming. Why was the Jockey acting so strangely? Why wasn't it humping anyone?

"Stop!" the Master shouted as he squeezed the little monster's hand once more, "Lastly, Ambassador, what would you have us do?"

The Jockey cackled and beat its chest with its claws.

"Self-mutilate!!!!"

Each member of the crowd pulled out their own wooden paddle with nails sticking out of it and proceeded to flog themselves. A mist of blood droplets spurted through the air as they all struck their backs in unison.

Ellis collapsed to his knees and wretched in complete disgust, but was only able to produce a small amount of bile from his empty stomach.

"What's wrong little one?" Nate placed his hands on the boy's shoulder and rubbed it gently. Ellis only managed to shake his head.

"Let's get you out of here. How foolish of me to forget that you must be starving and exhausted."

As Nate led him away, Ellis wearily thought he heard the old man talking about some sort of sacrifice that would take place shortly.

~Nick~

"Keep breathing Lily, just keep breathing." The conman had no idea what to do as the girl began pushing, not that he _could_ do anything while bound and trapped in a separate cage. Nick would sell his soul to get his hands on that bastard, Harvey.

If the guy had been lying about finding Ellis, then how did he know about him? He had clearly described the boy along with Lily back in the swamp…

Nick was now certain that it was Harvey who had kidnapped Lily during the night. He therefore must have seen Ellis, providing the old man with the perfect bait to catch Nick off guard.

For a while now, the conman had heard voices- Harvey's and others that he didn't recognize, and the shuffling and stomping of a large number of feet behind the curtain that covered both cages, but the room was large and he couldn't make out what was being said.

He also appreciated for the first time that while the gate to his cage was lowered shut; Lily's was wide open.

"Nick," the woman cried out weakly to him, "I think something's wrong!"

The conman strained against his chains to find the source of the woman's distress.

"Aw shit!! He's coming out feet first!"

"Oh no!" Lily gasped in anguish and laid her head back on the grated metal surface.

If Lily couldn't deliver the baby soon, the little guy wasn't going to make it. A wall of water was forming a film over the conman's eyes.

"Just keep pushing Lily. You're a hell of a girl, I know you're strong enough to do this."

Nick was afraid. The zombie apocalypse was nothing compared to this.


	9. Chapter 9

~Ellis~

The mechanic closed his eyes as he hovered weightlessly within an aqueous caress. Because he was so eager to resume his search for Nick and Lily, the boy had vehemently resisted Nate's offer of a warm bath. But the older man insisted with such passion that Ellis resigned himself to comply- if only to avoid insulting him. Now, as the water flowed over his exhausted muscles, Ellis was glad that he took the offer.

After scrubbing the grime off of his body, the young man reached for the supplied bathrobe and wrapped it around himself. He stared into the bathroom mirror. To his relief, his face didn't look nearly as badly as he had imagined. He walked out into Nate's living space and grinned as he caught sight and smell of the copious amount of food and drink waiting for him at his approach.

"Wow this is like Thanksgivin' or something!"

"I have ordered the very best from our supply stock. Come and eat as much as your heart desires," Nate offered as he patted the seat of the couch in which he was reclined with a bright smile. The boy jumped onto the seat next to the man. His eyes darted wildly across the mountain of food that lay before him. Nate slowly sipped a glass of wine and watched Ellis with amusement as mouthful after mouthful disappeared down the mechanic's throat.

"Howdya' get all this food, anyways?" It was a wonder that the older man could understand the muffled question as it passed through the mound of partially masticated food within the boy's mouth.

"We've amassed quite a bit within the old family factory haven't we? The Mississippi river has always been a wondrous means of transporting goods. For example, during its heyday in the 1800's steamboat commerce flourished, siphoning goods across the borders of many states."

"You're a pretty smart guy, Nate." The man's ears flushed an intense shade of pink at the boy's complement.

"So when the zombies ravaged our community, we survivors retreated to this old sugar mill and barricaded it as best we could. Aside from the occasional barrage of monsters, we've held out pretty well. There is however, a notable variety of the creatures that manage to kill a few of our numbers whenever they pass through," a shudder made it's way throughout Nate's body, "I swear I can hear them crying at night through the walls."

Ellis released an enormous belch from the pit of his stomach before clasping his hands over his mouth. He expected his host to be appalled.

"Sorry, where are my manners?" The boy stammered, waiting for the insult that would surely come.

"Don't worry about it, that was quite impressive." Nate had a strange look in his eyes as he smiled at the mechanic. He handed Ellis a glass of wine that was full to the brim and moved slightly closer.

Ellis sipped from the glass and shifted in the seat, not knowing what to say or do next.

_When in doubt..._

"All those guys in the robes back there reminded me of my buddy Keith. He was livin' in a grave yard after he got kicked out his house and a guy wearing a white robe with holes cut out for his eyes snuck up behind him and stabbed him! Took all his money too! Keith was terrified cuz he thought it was a ghost but it just mighta' been a homeless guy or something."

"That's hilarious!" Nate exclaimed.

"_REALLY_?!?!" Ellis was in shock. That was the first time he had ever been able to complete a Keith story, let alone have the listener actually enjoy the tale.

"Yeah! You got any more stories like that?" the man implored.

"Hell, don't get me started cuz I won't be able to stop!!!" the boy beamed.

"I've got all night…" Nate responded softly.

Ellis stared into the man's eyes. God, he looked so much like Nick… and yet he was the complete opposite in every other way. He was kind and actually listened to what the boy had to say. Suddenly, the horrific events that had just taken place rushed to the forefront of his mind. Nate was just as much a part of this insane organization as the old man in the robe. Ellis began to move away from the man.

"What's wrong little one?" Nate asked as he reached out to grab the boy's arm.

"Nothin' just…I need to find my friends, Nick and Lily. I think they're in trouble right now. I appreciate everything that you've done, but I have to get going."

"Nick…that wouldn't happen to be the man who abused you so badly, would it?"

Nate closed his eyes and shook his head as the rush of color to the boy's face gave him his answer. The man downed a second glass of wine in frustration and reached for a small vial of liquid. He began applying it to Ellis' face.

"This will help reduce inflammation. I can't wait to see your face once the swelling goes down."

"Yeah me too!" the boy exclaimed.

The man laughed, then in a harder tone, "You seem so eager to run right back to him. Why?"

Ellis thought carefully before responding.

"We've been through a lot and like I said he might be in trouble. Besides Lily, my other friend, she's pregnant. She mighta' even had her baby already!"

Nate shifted uncomfortably at the mechanic's words.

"Forget about them, Ellis. That man isn't your friend. If he was, he would have never done such a terrible thing to you."

"He's really not that bad…I just got 'im upset is all." The boy suddenly remembered the night back at the carnival when he woke up with Nick's jacket on him. To protect Nick's pride, he had pretended not to know that the conman had placed it on him with the intent of keeping him warm. Ellis smiled faintly.

"Listen to yourself!" Nate's words were slightly slurred, "Stay with me, little one. I will treat you in the manner that you deserve! I will shower you with luxuries and affection!" The man seemed feverish as he drew nearer to the mechanic, "Allow me to fulfill your every need!"

"You're a funny guy, Nate." Ellis chuckled. The man stared at the boy and blinked rapidly for several moments before rolling his eyes and sighing heavily in annoyance.

"You're really nice and all. If Nick was half as nice as you he'd be perfect, but anyways I gots' to go." The mechanic stood up and walked over to his filthy pile of clothing.

A bead of sweat traveled down Nate's forehead as Ellis removed his bathrobe.

"Besides, you people are kinda' crazy-if you didn't know," the boy said as he pulled his shirt over his head, "I mean runnin' around in robes, prayin,' and worshippin' a Jockey for Christ's sake! What the hell was that all about?"

"It is quite ridiculous isn't it?"

"So you don't believe in any of this wacko cult shit?"

Nate sighed as the lids of his eyes fell to half-mast.

"During periods of great upheaval, humanity consistently looks for a grand purpose or reason behind their turmoil and suffering. The weaker ones need something to believe in, something to hold on to. And there are those who wish to prey upon that need, goaded by their own lust for power and dominance."

The boy pointed acuusingly at the man, "So you're just a psycho who wants ta' control people!"

Nate recoiled as if struck by the mechanic's oustretched finger, "My uncle, the old Master, _he_ leads this group of lost souls. I had nowhere else to go as the rest of my family has been destroyed." The man lowered his head slightly, "But I must admit, I have grown to enjoy my station. Those monsters aren't going to stop coming. We're all going to die sooner rather than later, right? Look around you, at least I get to live like a prince until that day comes."

Ellis shook his head and frowned.

"Look little one-" Nate stopped himself and grinned devilishly, "Perhaps that is not such a suitable pet name for you after all…"

Ellis roared with laughter as he put his boxers back on.

"But seriously, forget about Nick. The man doesn't care about you. He is arrogant and self-absorbed. I mean, one glance at that pompous fool in his white suit is evidence enough-"

"So you've seen him!! You know where he is!" Ellis suddenly grabbed Joe's axe and held it up to Nate's neck. "Take me to him!" he demanded.

"That's not going to work on me. If I cannot have your affection, then so be it. Go ahead and swing."

Ellis stared at Nate, but all he could see was _Nick's _face staring back at him. He lowered the axe.

"How absurd of you! What could you possibly do to convince me to lead you back to your abuser?" Nate said with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes.

Thinking quickly, Ellis pushed Nate back onto the couch and straddled him, leaning his face close to that of the taller man.

"Please," the boy whispered into the man's ear.

Nate swallowed hard, "That's more like it," he cooed, "But still not good enough."

"Fine!" Ellis pushed himself off Nate, put his overalls on, and tied the straps around his waist. He then shoved his feet into his boots and stormed off toward the door, "I'll just go find them myself."

"They are in deep, _deep_ shit. _Both_ of them. They are right under your nose so if you head out into the swamp, I guarantee you they will be dead by sunrise."

Ellis halted in his tracks. "What do you mean?"

"I never wanted to admit this to myself, but the horror of the apocalypse has driven my uncle completely insane. He has feverishly amassed a large number of live infected individuals in preparation for sacrifices to appeased the Ambassador- the 'Jockey' as you called it. Why he has taken such a liking to that wretched little beast, I'll never know."

"If he sacrifices zombies, won't that just make the Jockey mad? Not that I give a shit about its happiness." Ellis queried.

"My uncle is a broken, tormented soul- torn between his desire to torture and destroy the zombies, and his psychotic delusions of pleasing his Jockey 'companion.' Not only does he kill zombies, he also makes sacrifices _to _them. Your friends happen to be the offering."

"You guys are bigger monsters than the zombies!" Ellis screamed. He shoved Nate away as the man reached down to pet his head.

"It pains me greatly to see you so angry with me, Ellis. Let me try to explain myself. Up until he captured the girl, my uncle had been using giant hogs to feed to the monsters. That seemed harmless enough, and it kept him busy. But then he claimed that the Jockey 'changed its mind' and now required a human sacrifice."

The mechanic slapped his own forehead with the palm of his hand, "This is bullshit!! Why not just offer up one of his loony followers then, huh? What did he have ta' mess with my friends for?"

"If he did that, he would lose all of them. He would be all alone. I think that scares him more than anything else."

The boy felt sick to his stomach once more, and now that he had eaten his fill, much more than a little splash of bile would end up on Nate's floor. He felt himself being pulled into a tight embrace.

"What about Nick, why did he take Nick too?" Ellis found himself saying in a shaky voice.

Nate looked down at the vulnerable young man shaking in his arms.

"If I help you free your friends I would be jeopardizing my position, perhaps even my life. So again…what could you possibly _do_ to convince me to take you to them?"

The boy knew that he had to do something drastic to get Nate to comply. Ellis bowed his head.

"I'll give you what you want. I'll stay with you for as long as you want me to."

"Really?" Nate's eyes widened.

"I'll do anything you want, _anything._ I just want my friends to be safe," the boy continued to stare at the floor.

"Damn. To think I would have settled for a peck on the cheek. It's a deal."

***

Nate swiftly led the boy from his private quarters and around the perimeter to the back of the fortress-like facility. Due to the events taking place within the main room, the two met no resistance as they stealthily approached a chamber that radiated with ghastly shrieks and howls.

The man produced a ring of keys from the pocket of his robe and opened the door.

"God damn, you weren't kidding!" Ellis tried his best to project his voice above the raging cacophony of the zombies writing in their cells.

"Your friends can't get eaten if there are no zombies, right?" Nate closed the door behind them and pulled out a large knife from his pocket.

"It seems that I have grossly underestimated the depth of my uncle's madness. As you have seen during the opening ceremony, he asks for the Jockey's opinion before doing anything. The thing even determines whether or not he eats or sleeps." Nate began thrusting the blade between the bars of the cages, killing each occupant as he made his way down the rows. Ellis followed suit, but was not nearly as efficient with the more unwieldy axe.

"There are a lot less in here than I remember. He must have moved some of the monsters to a different location," Nate said with concern as he finished off the last of the zombies.

"_Where did you hide them, Harvey_?" the man muttered to himself.

"Well how many more could there be?" The mechanic scratched his head, still unused to the absence of his hat.

The sight of Ellis drenched in sweat and zombie blood- his handsome face already starting to peek through the decreased swelling- filled Nate with a sudden resolve.

He would end this madness for the sake of this young man.

Noises on the other side of the door suddenly caught their attention. Nate commanded Ellis to remain in the room as he opened the door and made his way out. After several moments, he cracked the door and looked tenderly at the mechanic before whispering.

"I'll be back for you little one, I promise." Before Ellis could respond, Nate closed the door and locked the boy inside.

~Nick~

The curtain flew up and the conman suddenly became aware of his surroundings. He could see a large group of robed figures slowly filing out of the doorway at the other end of the room as the Master of Ceremonies made his way over towards his cage.

"I've decided not to have any spectators. They don't deserve to see this anyway." The old man gloated as he approached.

"That's a real good look for you, Harvey." Nick snarled.

"Isn't it?" The old man smoothed his hands over his ebony robe and sneered. "I must say I rather enjoy the look of both of you in those cages."

Lily cried out with intense pain. She bared her teeth and managed to force words out of her mouth between heavy gasps.

"Fucking asshole!" she screamed,"You're definitely a lunatic, but I find it hard to believe that there's nothing more behind this sick little game you're playing!"

"Lunatic, huh?" the old man closed his eyes, "What do _you_ know about Harvey Ducatel, anyways? Since you seem interested, I don't see why I couldn't tell you a bit more about myself." The old man folded his arms.

Nick strained against his chains like a rabid animal.

"Look you psychopath! We're not exactly itching for a Goddamn autobiography! Are you blind? A baby is literally popping out of this poor girl! Have you no shred of decency?!" Nick's eyes, already wide with fury, grew even larger as he noticed a tall figure silently enter the room with a knife in hand.

"That's precisely why I took her, you fool!" Harvey screamed, a wild glow briefly emanated from his eyes, "Sam loves children…always did!"

The old man savagely kicked the conman's cage as a large artery bulged from his neck and pulsated with odd irregularity.

"You don't have a choice! You will listen!!" he roared.

"Fine." Nick spat on the floor, careful to keep his gaze away from the man who began to slowly approach Harvey.

"Leopold Ducatel," the old man bowed his head in reverence to the name. His breathing slowed and the throbbing bulge in his neck subsided as he began his speech.

"My father, bless his soul, was the third generation owner of this once mighty establishment. Ducatel Sugar was the family business. Everyone was involved, 'cept me. Like I told you earlier, I decided to pursue my passion and go huntin' in the swamps instead of taking over for my father as he got older. So the position was passed down to my younger brother instead. For years I didn't care, but now that my ol' man's gone- thanks to the fuckin' monsters- I deeply regret disappointing him."

Nick sighed as he realized that his savior had hesitated and seemed to be listening to what the old fool was saying.

"I sank into a terrible depression once my whole family was destroyed. I was so alone, so desperately alone 'cept for my nephew. Probably woulda' killed myself if it wasn't for him…"

The knife trembled in the would-be assassin's hand.

"My brother also…but this mess has affected him too- to a far greater extent than me."

_Come on man, just go through with it!_ The conman was screaming in his head. Whoever the guy with the knife was, he had stopped approaching altogether and was now holding up a hand to his face in apparent distress.

Harvey's words became frantic.

"My brother… Sam…oh Sammy…he told me things…told me that the monsters would leave us alone if we kept them happy…didn't want to believe him…hell, I was so mad…wanted to kill them…make them suffer like they made me suffer!"

The rage was growing inside the old man once more and an abnormal amount of sweat began to pour down his forehead. "I love my brother so much that I decided to trust in him and do what he said."

Harvey shut his eyes and doubled over suddenly-his body wracked with jolts of pain.

Nick's frustration was unbearable as he glared at the man with the knife. The guy had the perfect opportunity to kill the old man yet he just stood there. The conman suddenly became aware of the resemblance the man bared to himself. They looked so similar in fact that Nick could imagine that it was _him_ with the knife. Oh, how he longed to plunge the blade into the old man's spine.

"Then people started showin' up from along the river," Harvey's voice was softer now as he remained curled on the floor, "They were all on the run…scared for their lives. Some were easy to manipulate and I soon had a new family. Wasn't alone anymore!"

Harvey suddenly snapped to his feet.

"I gotta keep my family safe! I gotta keep my brother happy!" A wicked smile split across the old man's face, "So now you will die!"

Harvey pulled a remote from his pocket before shouting with glee, "My only regret is that your young friend won't die with you…perhaps some other time!"

Upon hearing his uncle's words, Nate charged- the knife aimed at the back of the old man's neck.

Harvey whirled around suddenly and gasped.

"NOOOOOO!!!!" the conman screamed in frustration when out of nowhere, a Jockey came careening through the air. It landed on Nate's shoulders, knocking the man off balance before his knife could connect with its target.

As the Jockey led its unfortunate victim around the room, Harvey followed the two of them, fuming with outrage.

"NATHANIEL, HOW DARE YOU!!!! MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD DARES TO BETRAY ME?!?!?"

Veins began to bulge across the entire surface of the old man's skin.

"There is no need for me to deal with you as you are already receiving punishment enough! How does it feel to have your own father tear you apart?!"

"No!!" Nate screamed as he collapsed under the Jockey's weight.

"Destroy him Sammy, destroy him!" the old man cackled just as loudly as the little monster.

He then ran back over to Nick and Lily and pressed the button on his remote.

"Let the sacrifice begin!"


	10. Chapter 10

~Ellis~

"Aw come on Nate, let me outa' here! I'm gettin' bored in here!" the mechanic's fists were aching from the amount of times he had pounded on the door of the zombie room. He had run the full gamut of negative emotions as minute after minute elapsed since the older man had stranded him. The boy was beginning to wonder if Nate had double-crossed him when he was suddenly frightened out of his mind by the sound of every cage swinging open.

As all of the bodies within them tumbled simultaneously to the floor, a section of one of the far walls slid open. Ellis fumbled over the carpet of corpses and made his way out through the opening. His brain nearly went into overload as he quickly processed the scene in front of him: Nick and Lily were in cages to his left and both were chained inside.

Curiously, Nick's cage was sealed shut while Lily's cage was wide open.

The old man was staring at him with gaping mouth, and directly in front of him, Nate was struggling with that horrible Jockey on his back.

"You little bastard!!" Harvey's rage was at a fever pitch as the boy sprinted towards Nate with readied axe. The old man fell to his knees as Ellis shoved the Jockey off and severed its spinal cord with a single blow.

"Brother-" Harvey whispered before belting out the word at such a monstrous decibel that the boy's bones shook from the force. Ellis quickly lifted Nate to his feet.

Harvey's flesh began to bulge as he pressed two more buttons on his remote.

Another panel of the wall behind Nick and Lily's cages, identical to the one from which Ellis had emerged, began to slide open. A symphony of screams emerged from the widening crack, but to the survivors' immense fortune- and Harvey's immense misfortune- the panel jammed, preventing the monsters from entering the room.

"Now Overalls, take him out!" Nick commanded.

Ellis charged; the axe raised high. He swung it down to where Harvey's head used to be, but ended up slashing the man's abdomen instead.

"Aw, what the hell man?!" The mechanic cried out in dismay at the old man's mutating form. An arm that was rapidly growing and bulging with newly formed flesh and muscle knocked him back.

Harvey Ducatel had always been an extremely healthy individual, blessed with a powerful immune system. He had sloshed through the disease-ridden swamps with impunity for scores of years. On the rare occasions that he did fall ill, his symptoms were light and his recovery was swift. So when he contracted the Virus, his immune system had managed to keep it in check. The virus lay dormant at the base of his spine for weeks, waiting for the proper conditions that would weaken the old man in order for it to replicate. Now, it had finally been triggered by the perfect balance of stress and anger to transform the old man into a physical manifestation of his unbridled frustration and rage.

Ellis recovered from the blow, only to find a Tank barreling towards him. He leapt to the side while still managing to create another slash wound across the monster's flank.

-The zombies continued to pound against the wall frantically-

Momentarily stunned by both the sight of his mutated father lying dead at his feet, and the horrific transformation of his uncle, Nate managed to recover the knife he had dropped. The man looked down at the weapon in his hands.

Although it was wondrously sharp and jagged, in truth it was barely the length of a standard dagger. What good would it do now that Harvey was a towering behemoth?

Nate watched Ellis struggle to avoid the monster's berth as it charged the boy once more- a little matador desperately trying to avoid a creature far worse than any bull.

The man could hear the screams of the frightened cultists as they ran out of the building at the sight and sounds of the enormous creature. Nate held his head in his hands in anguish. His intent was to keep the boy from harm by locking him in that room, but now Ellis would pay the price for the man's foolish hesitation. If only he had eliminated his uncle when he had the chance. Nate was shaking violently, realizing that there was nothing he could do. Nothing…

"Overalls, look out!" he heard the man in the cage scream.

Nate's vision began to lose focus as he stared off into space. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his doppelganger straining against his chains, cursing and shouting in anger.

It was an omen of death.

A sickening feeling of regret washed over Nate so suddenly that he couldn't handle it.

So he turned towards the door and ran out of the room.

"OH SHIT! OH SHIT!" Ellis cried as he circled around a support column, doing everything in his power to keep the structure between himself and the Tank. Participating in a twisted game of ring around the rosy, the boy and the monster circled around the column. Ellis picked up his pace in an attempt to swipe at the Tank's backside with the axe, but doubled back in the opposite direction when the monster turned to face him. They circled round and round repeatedly and eventually slowed to a stop.

-The wall began to shudder from the repeated blows of the zombies-

Ellis peeked his head around the column only to see the Tank doing the same. The monster lurched around to reach for him, but Ellis circled quickly in the opposite direction. He stopped to avoid the Tank's other arm as it circled in that direction.

They had reached a stale mate.

Ellis was panting heavily. He couldn't keep this up for much longer, and he searched wildly for a way to put some distance between himself and the Monster. He spotted a ladder that led up to a mezzanine. It jutted out like a balcony above the entire room. He contemplated running towards the ladder.

"Overalls, my pistol might still be in the pocket of my suit!" Nick shouted to him.

The boy could see the conman's clothing in a pile in one of the far corners of the room, but what could a pistol do to this monster?

The Tank's frustration had reached astronomic levels as the beast began to attack the column in an attempt to reach the mechanic. Ellis took the opportunity to run towards the location of Nick's gun.

"ELLIS!!!"

Nick's voice was laced with a frantic level of fear that the boy had never heard before. The mechanic grabbed the weapon and raised it in the assumption that the Tank was following right behind him. Instead, to his absolute horror, the monster had turned its attention to Lily- her cage was wide open and large enough for the Tank to fit through.

"Oh God, NOOO!" The boy's feet barely made contact with the earth as he sprinted towards the Tank at an awe-inspiring pace. He dropped the axe to keep the weight of the weapon from slowing him down.

-A crack appeared in the wall as the feverish zombies continued to pound away at it-

Performing a leap that would have made a Hunter proud, Ellis landed on the Tank's back and steadied himself by grabbing at its long, white ponytail. Ellis thanked the good Lord that the old man had not lost his hair during his transformation.

The monster halted just feet away from Lily's cage and bellowed in outrage.

Ellis hated Jockeys, absolutely hated them. Back in Savannah, he had been ridden by Jockeys more times than he would have liked to admit. So the boy was familiar with the way the little creatures shifted their weight on his back to stay balanced, the way they placed their bloody little fingers around his face…

Ellis wrapped his left hand around the Tank's open mouth and tugged, digging his nails into the inside of the creature's cheek. He knew that the monster would be unable to bite him because of its sunken lower jaw. The force of the boy's grip caused the Tank's head to tilt to the left as Ellis reached for the pistol with his right hand.

The Tank lifted its arms to grab the boy, but due to the weight of its upper body- made all the heavier by Ellis' presence- it couldn't stay balanced enough on its small legs to reach him. The mechanic tugging fiercely at its head served to further throw off the monster's equilibrium, and it actually started to stagger away from Lily's cage under the boy's influence.

"YEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAW!!!!" Ellis pelted the Tank's head with pistol fire as the beast bucked savagely to throw him off. The boy's grip was loosened by the slimy foam that oozed from the monster's mouth, and a particularly forceful lunge sent him flying.

Ellis cried out as he landed messily on his back, and the back of his head slammed against the floor. He could hear nothing but an intense ringing as a puddle of blood began to soak his hair. The lights on the ceiling became blindingly bright, until the looming Tank eclipsed them with its impossible immensity.

"I failed you, Nick…"

A plume of lava suddenly erupted from the Tank's back.

As the monster reared up in astonished fury, Ellis scrambled to escape the flames that were now spilling over the Tank's body. Terrified, he rolled across the floor as the fire caught his shirt and lapped against his flesh.

The Tank rampaged across the room, trailing a conflagration behind it like a meteor.

-The zombies were visible now, as they had managed to punch a hole in the wall-

Ellis felt himself being lifted off the ground.

"Hold tight to me, Little One," Nate urged as he hoisted the boy onto his back. The man had confiscated a Molotov from one of the newer recruits weeks ago, and was grateful that he hadn't gotten rid of the thing. He headed towards the ladder and started to climb up to the mezzanine. He placed the boy in a corner and ran back towards the ladder. Nate wasn't sure if the ladder would support his uncle's weight, but didn't want to take any chances. If he could just reach the floor, he could distract the monster until the flames consumed it.

As the monster spotted the source of its burning torment, it headed towards the ladder. Nate was half way down when he was forced to jump the rest of the way to the floor. The Tank annihilated the ladder, causing the section of the mezzanine directly above it to collapse. Nate rolled as he hit the floor, and began running with the monster directly behind him. Unfortunately for the man, the Tank's speed seemed to have increased greatly due to the flames. It grabbed Nate by the torso, squeezing the man like a vice.

Ellis peered down from the top of the mezzanine. His hearing had come back, but his head was pounding from his concussion. He watched as Nate- partially consumed by the flames that had spread from the creature onto him- plunged his dagger wildly in and out of the Tank's head and chest. Before the monster collapsed, it heaved the man savagely against the wall.

"Overalls, they're gonna break through any second!" Nick's voice snapped the boy out of his trauma-induced stupor. At any moment, the section of the wall behind his friends would cave in, and the zombies would rush into the room- straight into Lily's cage.

Ellis looked around desperately for Nate, not knowing if the man was alive or not.

"WHAT DO I DO?!?" he shouted to the man.

Nate was badly burned, and his organs were crushed. Before he died, he cried out to Ellis, "I have the keys to their chains…and there's a switch up there that controls the cages…but you're gonna have to make a choice…one of my uncle's sick little games…so sorry… Little One…"

Spotting the switch, Ellis stumbled awkwardly towards it and flipped it down. Instantly, the gate to Lily's cage swung down, protecting her from the zombies that would destroy both her and the baby. Unfortunately, because they were connected in a pulley-like fashion, the closing of her cage caused the gate of Nick's cage to swing upwards, exposing the conman to the infected's wrath.

"FUUUUUCK!!" Ellis cried as he flipped the switch again.

Nick's cage swung shut; Lily's opened once more.

It was then that the enormity of his predicament crushed the boy. It was as though Harvey the Tank had jumped on _his _back. Time slowed down as he realized that no matter what, one of his friends was going to die.

The zombies would break through at any moment, and they would destroy whoever occupied the open cage. Because the Tank had destroyed the ladder, getting down from the mezzanine was going to be painful for Ellis. Getting back up would be impossible. He was in no position to fight off such a large number of zombies by himself. The boy was panicking.

"Overalls, listen to me!!" Once again, Nick's voice brought him back, "Flip the switch again, now!"

Ellis was shaking. If he flipped the switch, Nick would be at the mercy of the zombies, but if he didn't…

"As much as I hate going down like this, two lives are worth more than one, Overalls. Remember that."

Ellis placed his hands on the switch again. That poor, little baby- it didn't ask to be born into this horrible situation.

Even now, the boy could just see the little legs moving slightly. That little baby wanted to live… it deserved to live just as much as he did.

"Nick!" Ellis cried out to the conman with tears streaming down his face. "What right do I have to choose who lives and who dies?" Ellis crumpled to his knees. His words came out in fitful gasps.

"It's not fair…It's just not right!"

"These are the cards you've been dealt, Overalls so just snap out of it!"

"But-"

"Listen to me!" Nick's voice was steady and strong, "You're gonna flip the switch and when every last zombie enters my cage you're gonna flip it again. They'll be trapped inside and you can get Lily out of here. That's an order!!"

Ellis was completely numb.

"I swear to God, Overalls you better not fuck this up!!"

The boy flipped the switch again and sobbed at the conman's last words.

"Ellis…I didn't think I would ever see you again…but I'm glad I was able to."

The gate to Nick's cage swung open as the zombies came rushing into the room.


	11. Chapter 11

~Nick~

As Ellis' trembling hands rested on the control switch, the conman had instinctively contemplated ordering the boy to save _him_ instead of Lily and the baby. He simply refused to believe that he would die chained to a cage as a throng of infected ate him alive. That was such bullshit that it simply wasn't going to happen to him.

No way.

The boy would listen to him, too- wouldn't he? Surely Ellis would save him. He only needed to say the word and it would be done. But as he watched the boy huddled high above the floor and thought about the horrible manner in which he had treated Ellis, the conman was no longer sure the mechanic would be so eager to save him.

Panicking, he turned over to Lily and studied her face briefly, wondering if he had the balls to throw the girl under the zombie bus.

Oh boy did he ever.

"Overalls, listen to me!!" Shamelessly, the conman prepared to plead his case and beg the boy to safe his life, but a tiny movement suddenly caught his attention.

Nick struggled with all of his might not to look, knowing that if he did he would surely die. He shut his eyes and bared his teeth as his body began to shake violently, but the urge to look was simply too irresistible. So as he opened his eyes, Nick's icy heart completely melted.

A perfectly formed little human lay angelically on the floor of Lily's cage.

"Tell me he's ok." Lily sighed wearily, sensing both the release and relief of her intense pressure and pain.

Nick was choking. He couldn't speak the words, so he simply jerked his head awkwardly up and down and now found himself unable to look away. The child was so beautiful, so peaceful, so helpless- and in a few moments he would be dead. Nick's eyes darted wildly to the open gate of the infant and his mother. He could practically taste the putrid essence of the infected as they prepared to strike.

All of his life, Nick believed that it was _he_ who mattered most. This selfish narcissism had been the driving force behind most of his grievous sins- sins that would now be atoned for as he sacrificed himself for this child.

"Flip the switch again, now!"

Ellis began to argue with him. Seeing the boy so concerned with his safety, even after all that had transpired between them, filled the conman with such a sense of relief that after giving his orders to Ellis, he called out to him.

"Ellis…I didn't think I would ever see you again…but I'm glad I was able to."

There was so much more that he needed to say to the boy, but there was simply no time left.

As the gate to his cage swung open, the conman turned once more to the girl who was now crying inconsolably.

"Lily, listen to me," Nick was struggling to conceal the desperation and uncertainty in his voice, "Ellis is going to take care of you and the baby."

Thinking of Ellis in this manner caused Nick to mournfully choke out the remaining words.

"That kid… is so damn…_devoted_…just trust me…"

So intense were the girl's sobs that Nick could just barely understand her response.

"I'm naming him Nicholas…after you."

The world suddenly became much more muted to the conman- and blurry, so incredibly blurry as he struggled to peer through the liquid wall of his tears. He could see the first zombie flickering and wavering like a mirage as it approached him. His breathing became sharp as he decided not to close his eyes. Nick wasn't going to go down cringing and sniveling like a little bitch.

No way.

The conman was so fully prepared to die that when the gate to his cage came surging back downward at the very last moment, decapitating the zombie like a guillotine as it entered, his soul was abruptly wrenched from his body.

Nick's eyes were wide open, but he couldn't see a thing.

He couldn't see Lily's cage swing open.

He couldn't see as the zombies piled into it, engulfing the girl and her baby.

He couldn't hear the horrific screams of the monsters and _THANK GOD_ he couldn't hear Lily scream as they tore her asunder.

He didn't notice when his cage opened once more and didn't sense the calloused fingers as they unlocked his chains and grabbed him by the arms.

He wasn't aware that he was being dragged out of the cage, across the floor, and out of the sugar mill.

He wasn't aware of anything at all.

***

For what seemed like ages, Nick sat staring at the floor within an abandoned house in the small, rural town near the mill. His eyes half closed, he sighed heavily as Ellis drew near him with the tentative step of a lamb approaching a wolf. The conman looked wearily up at the boy who was holding out a bunched up armful of his clothing.

"They're wrinkled…sorry." Ellis' voice was barely above a whisper as he averted his eyes. His face took on an uncontrollable, rosy glow at the sight of Nick in the altogether. Upon handing over the suit, the boy backed away and curled up in a far corner of the room, facing the wall.

Nick was so livid that his first instinct had been to kill the kid. The mechanic had disobeyed the conman's direct order, something that he had never done before, and it was extremely unsettling. As he dressed himself slowly, he could see that Ellis was sobbing.

Again he sighed heavily. Lily… baby Nicholas…it was fitting that the infant shared his name as Nick felt a piece of himself die along with that poor child. Not wanting to dwell on their deaths, the conman's mind turned to the only other thing he could think of- Ellis.

"Why?"

He hadn't planned on asking the boy just yet, but it was simply impossible not to. The question hung heavily in the air, threatening to smother him if it remained unanswered.

A tiny whimper escaped from Ellis' throat and he sniffled several times before responding.

"I…don't know."

Nick could feel the anger building within him.

"_You don't know_?" The conman's voice was dripping with venom, as he struggled unsuccessfully to keep the volume of his words down, "You sentenced a newborn child and his mother to death and _you don't know why_? GOD FUCKING DAMN YOU!"

There was absolutely no response this time. Ellis didn't move. He didn't sniffle, cry out, shake, twitch, nothing. He simply lay there like a stone, still facing the wall.

Nick decided to stop tormenting the boy and lowered himself onto a filthy couch. He ran his hands down his face as he remembered that he originally wanted Ellis to save him.

He began going over the possible reasons for Ellis' decision. From a logical standpoint, he was the better choice, and there was no denying that fact. Bless her soul, but Lily wouldn't have been much help to the boy as he continued towards the river in hopes of escaping this mess. How were they going to fight zombies with an infant to take care of? Assuming Nicholas was immune like his mother, how could he have possibly survived for long when food and water- in adequate amounts for Lily to keep up her milk production- were impossible to come by?

Nick shook his head knowingly. Although all of these points were valid and logical, he knew that Ellis was not a logical person. None of this could have possibly registered in the kid's mind. No, Ellis' decision had been purely emotional.

Nick's mouth became dry as he unsuccessfully attempted to contemplate the magnitude of Ellis' feelings. He lifted himself off the couch and made his way over to the boy. Reaching out with a shaky arm, he placed his hand gently on Ellis' shoulder.

The boy recoiled from Nick's touch as if shocked by a bolt of lightning and jumped to his feet.

"I'm a monster, OK?! A selfish monster! I made my choice and now I have ta' deal with it for the rest of my life, so stop givin' me shit for it cuz I can't take it no more!! I _know_ you hate me for it, so just leave me alone!!" Ellis cried as he ran over to the door, slamming it behind him as he ran out of the house.

Nick watched as the boy ran past the buildings and headed back into the swamp.

"Damn it Overalls, I don't hate you…"

The conman once again pulled out the object that he had placed within his suit pocket. He was amazed that it was still there, let alone that Ellis hadn't noticed it as its size caused the pocket to bulge. He squeezed it fiercely in his hands. The fact that he even bothered to keep the ridiculous thing with him was proof enough of how much he cared for the stupid kid who had saved his life.

Putting it away, Nick gathered his pistol and wearily opened the door, wondering why it was so impossible for the two of them to stay together. He made it to the edge of the swamp, and as the conman struggled to keep going- his body aching from spending nearly an entire twenty for hours locked in the cage- he wondered how Ellis managed to run so quickly. Nick ended his futile efforts and heaved heavily, struggling to fill his lungs with much needed air. He was only thirty-five and yet the events of the past week had left him feeling so very old and weary.

Dark clouds had begun to swallow up the setting sun as he walked along once more. He could actually hear the flow of the swamp emptying into a much larger body of water further ahead of him. Nick's hopes lifted as he contemplated the prospect of reaching the banks of the Mississippi. Perhaps Ellis had stopped at the water's edge, waiting for him. As the first drops of rain made contact with his suit, Nick heard a strange crying amidst the foliage. Thinking that it was Ellis, he approached the source of the sound only to recognize it for the Witch that it was. The conman backed away as the creature spotted him, but began to panic at her approach. He had not gotten close enough to disturb her yet there she was running toward him.

"Fuck my life," Nick gasped, realizing that this Witch wasn't normal. Her hair and skin were too dark, and her tattered shirt was pink with the words Depeche Mode printed on it.

~Ellis~

The boy stopped running when he came to a small, wooden bridge that jutted above the filthy muck. He could hear the river close by, the sounds of it growing louder as the increasing wind caused the waters to swirl. Ellis sat on the bridge and hung his head. He imagined the steady rain to be the tears of Lily and her baby, and allowed the hot precipitation to soak his exposed hair.

"I'm sorry…I know it was wrong but-"

Ellis heard a peculiar gasping sound close by, but was too preoccupied with his thoughts to give the noise much attention.

The boy simply could not bring himself to continue on without Nick. They had gone through so much in the short time they had been together. Back in Savannah, Ellis thought the zombie apocalypse was kind of exciting, even a little fun. Although Nick had slowly but surely robbed the boy of his joy, Ellis realized that the conman was ironically the only thing that kept him going.

The boy looked up and saw a lone zombie shambling along in the distance. He watched with a slight feeling of pity as the creature held its head in its hands and looked up at the horribly gray sky. It was as though the water washing over the creature's body had temporarily cleared its mind, causing the zombie to suddenly become aware of and lament over the utter hopelessness of its damned existence. But the fact that the creature resumed its aimless wandering proved otherwise.

"Least ya' can't feel sad any more," the boy said softly.

Ellis rose to his feet with the intent of returning to Nick. The conman was angry with him, but why wouldn't he be? The boy was angry with himself for blowing up at, and running away from the man he had just killed two people to save.

As he walked back across the bridge, Ellis caught sight of something so terrifying between a gap in the wooden boards below him, that he felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

He jumped down the stairs to find the body of Coach lying in a fetid mixture of swamp grime and his own lifeblood.

Ellis screamed in anguish and buried his face into the man's big, barrel chest. The boy's eyes nearly bulged from his head as he realized that the body was still soft and warm. Immediately he began compressing Coach's chest. He then pinched the older man's nose and covered his mouth with his own as he filled Coach's lungs with his own breath.

Ellis repeated the process for nearly a half hour before finally giving up. Coach was supposed to be in New Orleans being safely evacuated, not lying underneath a lonely plank bridge staring blankly up at the sky. This was too much for the boy to handle. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pilot's wedding ring.

"We're never gettin rescued!" he screamed before hurling the ring into the mud. He then curled up next to Coach's body and waited to die.


	12. Chapter 12

~Nick~

The conman fired his pistol as the creature approached him, backing away desperately through the soggy soil. An intense bolt of pain suddenly surged through Nick's chest, causing him to stagger, and he nearly lost his grip on the gun. The Witch tackled Nick into the mud, causing the now heavy rain pelting his face to run into his nostrils. Nick closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he raised his pistol, bracing himself for the ripping and shredding sensations to come. The first set of claws raked his abdomen as he fired into the Witch's chest and neck. However, the bullets began to miss their target as Nick writhed in agony when one of the talons became momentarily stuck within the indentation of his belly button. The momentum of the swipe caused the skin to stretch and rip.

"ROCHELLE! ROCHELLE!" Nick could feel his own eardrums about to burst from the intensity of his screams.

Things weren't supposed to end up this way. Nick had taken the apparent immunity that he and his companions possessed for granted once they left the burning hotel with their minds and bodies intact. As long as they could avoid getting killed, everything would end up ok. Now his own immunity was put into question- not that it would matter in a few seconds.

The conman continued to fire desperately even after the claws stopped making contact with his flesh. He opened his eyes to see the Witch sobbing into her hands. The bloodied talons crisscrossed as they meshed together. Nick ceased firing as the woman stared into his eyes; her own dripped tears of magma from their glowing centers. He held his breath as one of the clawed hands reached out slowly towards his face and exhaled shakily as the back of that hand caressed his cheek. She then lunged forward and pierced his neck with her teeth.

Nick cried out, grabbed the Witch by her hair, and wrenched her off of him before she could catch his jugular. Before he could shoot her again, she knocked the pistol out of his hands and began trembling violently. She lifted her head to the heavens and let out such a terrifying, otherworldly screech that Nick had to shield his ears with his hands to keep from losing his mind.

The very air around the two of them inexplicably began to change, enveloping Nick and everything within the Witch's personal radius in a cloak of darkness. Her entire body seemed to radiate with a hellishly crimson glow that drained the surrounding light.

The conman was gripped by a sickeningly horrible feeling of doom. His chest seized with pain as his heart lost its regular rhythm and began to beat erratically before suddenly stopping.

Nick's face froze in utter terror as he became consciously aware of the failure of the muscle in his chest that had, up to that very moment, beat so tirelessly throughout his thirty five years of existence. He no longer felt anchored to his body, rather he felt as though he were being pulled into the yawing darkness as the creature's incessant screaming surged through him. He found himself unable to swim away from the murky depths.

Nick's life didn't flash before his eyes.

The only thing he did see- if only for the most fleeting moment-was the smiling face of a young mechanic.

His heart beat once, allowing his mind to form the words of the mantra he had repeated to himself since the apocalypse started.

_I have not…_

Again his heart pulsed, stronger this time.

_come this far…_

The familiar rhythm began to restore itself.

_to die now!_

Nick reached up and grabbed the still screaming Witch by her shoulders and shook her with every ounce of his strength.

"ROCHELLE!!!!!"

The Witch became deathly silent.

In an instant, Nick saw the Witch the way she looked the last time he had seen her. The dark, caramel skin was flawless once more. Hair that was neatly tied back allowed an unfettered view of dark, shining eyes. The two golden hoop earrings danced just above her shoulders and framed her beautiful, supple lips.

Another jolt of pain shot through Nick's chest as he regretted having turned his back on her at the carnival. Sweet and gentle, yet strong and determined, the young woman who he had known for such a short time- who had insisted upon following him into the hellish swamp instead of continuing on towards New Orleans- was now struggling with all too apparent effort against the rabid urge to rip him apart. With her trembling hand caressing his cheek once more, Rochelle leaned her face close to Nick and bowed her head. Taking his cue, Nick groped around unsteadily for the pistol, and upon finding it, he lifted it up to her head.

"Good night, beautiful girl," he whispered before pressing the trigger.

***

Nick crawled through the muck on his hands and knees, fighting with all of his might to ignore the now constant pain in his chest. Nearly crippling feelings of nausea and vertigo prevented him from walking upright. But because he had heard a pained cry above the howling wind- undoubtedly from Ellis this time- nothing was going to slow the conman down. He sloshed through the sticky, saturated grime, now garnished with a layer of vomit that spewed from his mouth.

His left arm suddenly buckled as the pain from his chest surged into it, sending Nick face first into the unholy concoction. He tried to rise once more, but was unable to bring his weakened arm under him for support. As it lay limply at his hide, it brushed against the object hidden in his jacket, which caused his fragile heart to pump all the more furiously. He kicked with his legs and gripped the soft earth as best he could with his working arm. He gagged from the steady advance of putrid mud into his panting mouth as he slithered along at an excruciatingly slow pace, but the bridge materializing ahead of him filled Nick with resolve.

He could see Ellis on the ground underneath the bridge, kicking frantically at a pair of infected. The little fool was completely unarmed, having left his axe back in the mill. Once in range, Nick rolled onto his back to grab his pistol and fired until both zombies dropped. He then performed a pathetic backstroke through the ever- liquefying mud to reach the boy.

Too exhausted to speak, Nick grabbed the mechanic's arm and squeezed it before erupting into a cripplingly painful coughing fit. Ellis lifted Nick into a seated position and supported the man's weight against himself as he patted his back. Nick allowed himself to lean against Ellis as he gasped for air like a dying fish. He was sure that his heart was going to burst from the pressure that he felt in his head and chest from its furious beating. The plank bridge rocked slightly, unable to shield the two men completely from the storm that had only grown worse by the time Nick finally caught his breath.

Ellis hugged him fiercely, speaking directly into the conman's ear to make his words heard above the wind.

"Thank you so much."

Despite himself, and the fact that the gesture caused his pain to increase, Nick leaned into hug.

Ellis motioned to the lifeless form that the conman had failed to notice. Nick closed his eyes and shook his head upon seeing Coach.

"I can't believe it," Ellis continued, "We have ta' find Rochelle- she's all alone now!"

Nick winced and rubbed his chest as sweat began to mix with the mud and rainwater on his face.

"Ro's gone too. I…saw her body on the way over here."

"Why didn't they go to New Orleans? Why'd they have ta' follow us for?" Ellis clenched his fists and bit his lip so fiercely that he pierced it with his teeth.

"I guess they cared about you, Overalls- so much so that they were willing to put their lives on the line. Now before you embark on your little guilt trip, remember that they made a choice and they weren't afraid to deal with the consequences. I think you can learn a lot from them Ellis…we both can."

A bolt of lightning danced between the clouds above them.

"I'm a monster, Nick. It's my fault. I killed Lily, her baby…and now I've killed Coach and Ro."

"Cut that shit out Ellis. Coach and Rochelle's blood is on my hands. I got us into this mess in the first place, remember? You said so yourself back at the carnival…God that was so fucking long ago." Nick paused and breathed deeply. It frightened him that breathing had become so difficult, "As far as Lily and the baby goes…damn it, Ellis you can't let it destroy you. You have to keep moving forward. You have to make it through this for them…for Coach and Ro."

For several minutes nothing could be heard but the howling wind and the barrage of rain drops striking the wooden structure above them.

"You called yourself a _selfish _monster earlier- before you went psycho and stormed off. What did you mean by that?"

"I was just…so mad I didn't even know what I was sayin'. I was just blabberin' and stuff." Ellis replied, dodging the question.

"Sounds pretty typical."

"So it really is just you an' me now, Nick." The boy looked so utterly defeated that Nick felt the urge to cheer him up.

"Officially and unfortunately- yes. How horrible for the both of us," the conman smirked slightly and coughed twice.

Ellis smiled sadly, "If I had ta' be stuck with someone for the rest of my life, I rekon' you'd be the best choice."

"Seriously?" Nick was shocked.

The boy nodded.

"Seriously." The conman repeated.

Again the boy nodded.

"What about your fellow hillbilly moron-in-crime? You know, that idiot you've been gushing about non-stop since we first met?"

"Oh, Keith…" the mechanic scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, him. Don't tell me he's just an imaginary friend or something- a product of your sick, little mind that you concocted just so you could run your mouth and torment me. Cuz if that's the case, I just might slug you."

Ellis chuckled.

"Nah. Keith's real all right, and he's the best friend a guy could ever ask for. Known 'im since I was just a lil' peanut. But…he ain't never made me feel the way you do. I just can't explain it."

"So he's never made you feel like a useless piece of shit?" The conman scoffed, "What a horrible friend he turned out to be."

Ellis studied the rapidly growing puddles around them.

"Do you think we're ever gonna make it out of this mess, Nick?"

"Yeah, I do. Why? You don't?"

The boy looked at Coach's body once more and ran both of his hands through his sopping hair before shaking his head slowly.

"Jesus, Ellis. Don't tell me you've given up. Since when did you become such a little, fucking pessimist?"

"Since I started hangin' around you."

Nick gave the boy a crooked smile before wincing slightly.

"Listen to me, Overalls. I know I've wronged you- a lot- but trust me we're gonna make it to New Orleans if I have to drag your ass down there myself."

Ellis studied the conman's pale face worriedly.

"That's a load a' bullshit Nick, and you know it. It doesn't look like you could even stand up, let alone 'drag my ass down there.' You're really hurtin' man. You don't look right and you're actin' way too nice. What's wrong?"

"I feel like hell, Ellis. Absolute hell…in a sick sort of way, not just in a wounded way."

"Aw man, you are burnin' _up_," Ellis piped as he immediately put the back of his hand on the conman's forehead.

"Yeah, but let's keep moving. This storm isn't letting up and damn it, I don't want to stay waterlogged under this bridge. Swimming's not my strong suit."

Before the mechanic could protest, Nick reached into his jacket.

"I've got a present for you, Overalls."

Ellis' jaw dropped as Nick's hand emerged holding a crumpled blue and white hat.

"You look much better with it on," the conman smiled devilishly as he smoothed the cap out and placed it on the boy's head. "Now help me up."

With Ellis' help, Nick rose slowly to his feet and proceeded to vomit profusely. The mechanic steadied him, and when he had finally emptied his stomach, the two of them paid their last respect to Coach and Rochelle before treading through the downpour towards the river.

"I can't thank you enough for the hat, man! Where'dya' find it, anyways?"

"Don't get too excited, kid. _I_ took it from you…you know, after I beat the shit out of you and ran away."

"Oh." The mechanic was quiet for a moment. "Why did you do that, anyway?"

"What, beat the shit out of you and run away- or take your hat?"

Again Ellis was quiet for a moment.

"Take my hat."

The conman couldn't help but laugh, which sent him into another coughing fit.

"I don't know. I guess I did it so I would have something to remember your stupid ass… just in case I never saw you again."

A spectacularly blinding bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby, sending an enormous peal of thunder rumbling across the swamp. A chorus of screams took the place of the sound as it subsided.

"Shit," they both muttered simultaneously.

Ellis grabbed Nick's arm and draped it across his shoulder. He then wrapped his own arm around the conman's waist and started running. Nick forced himself to keep up the pace as he heard the zombies sloshing through the muck behind them, but found the effort to be too much.

"Overalls…wait. I…can't…I can't breathe…I have to stop."

Ellis hoisted the man onto his back and reached behind him to support Nick's weight with his arms. The conman marveled at the seemingly bottomless well of strength that the young man tapped into as he propelled the both of them forward.

The river was visible now, and Ellis ran parallel to the bank when Nick pointed out a small, wooden dock in the distance. Several boats were traveling down the river, but most of them had already passed the dock.

Nick fired his pistol at the approaching horde but was only able to take a handful of them down- his aim hampered by Ellis' bounding gait. As they reached the dock, Ellis placed Nick on the wooden structure and grabbed a rotting, waterlogged branch, waving it frantically in the air to signal an approaching boat. He hoped beyond hope that the captain would see them amidst the downpour.

Nick continued firing as the first wave of infected clamored onto the dock until a Hunter landed on top of him. Ellis stopped waving and proceeded to beat the Hunter until both the infected's head was crushed and the branch snapped in half. When a Boomer appeared, he threw both pieces of the branch at the bloated creature, causing it to burst as a jagged, splintered edge pierced its belly. The explosion scattered the other zombies long enough to give both men some breathing room. Additionally, both the skirmish and the crimson explosion had alerted the boat.

"Ellis, step away from me!"

"No way!"

"God damn it just do it!"

The mechanic reluctantly complied and moved as far away from Nick as the dock would allow. Thankfully, he thought, that wasn't very far at all. However, it was far enough to split the infected into two groups as they continued their approach. Nick reloaded the pistol and fired the gun until he spent the clip. Meanwhile, Ellis punched, kicked, and shoved the infected approaching him into the water- not without suffering a grievous number of scratches and bites. The river, now surging quite rapidly, swept the creatures downstream.

"Heads up!" Nick yelled after reloading the pistol with rapidly diminishing ammo, and slid the weapon across the dock to Ellis. The mechanic grabbed the weapon and fired at the larger number of infected surrounding him while Nick kicked desperately while still on the ground. As soon as Ellis used up the clip, he tossed the pistol back to Nick who reloaded and fired. They continued to take turns with the pistol until a Spitter doused the dock with goo.

"FUCKING HELL!!!" Nick was being burned alive, unable to rise off the floor of the deck. As Ellis grabbed him, the dock - unable to withstand both the weight of the zombies, and the corrosive substance eating away at it- collapsed.

Water rushed into Nick's lungs as he thrashed desperately to reach the surface. He sputtered and flailed his arms once his head emerged above the swirling waters. The sight of the boat twenty feet away from him just barely helped to keep his mounting panic from overwhelming him. Ellis appeared next to the conman and couldn't help but whoop and holler in excitement.

"Come on, Nick! We're almost home free! Are you doggy paddlin'? You ain't gonna get nowhere like that!" The boy swam towards the boat with the long strokes of a seasoned swimmer.

Nick however, was struggling to keep from being swept away by the current.

"Give me…a fucking break…Overalls!" Nick gasped, "I'm not…a good swimmer!" Nick's head went under once more. Unable to hold his breath, a plume of bubbles escaped from his mouth. Terrified, he could feel the water rushing into his lungs once he caved in to the desperate desire to breathe, and he rolled helplessly amidst the merciless current. Once more, a yawning darkness was swallowing him and he was unable to swim away from the murky depths.

He didn't see Ellis' face this time, but he did feel the boy's arms wrap around his chest.

Instantly he was lying face down on the deck of the boat. Nick could feel his entire body spasm as he wretched the water from his lungs. He hugged the deck, grateful to have a solid surface beneath him.

"Oh, God! Ellis, thank you so much!" Nick concentrated on filling his lungs with oxygen- so much so that he nearly overlooked the blaring lack of a 'you're welcome' or an 'aw shucks, it was nothin' Nick.'

The conman's eyes shot open at the lack of a giant bear hug…or even a gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Ellis?"

Despite the protest from his weakened body, Nick struggled onto his feet and searched the deck wildly, wishing with all of his heart to see the smiling face that was no longer there.

He hobbled over to the side of the boat and looked with terror at the tattered remnants of the dock fading slowly into the gray abyss behind him. As he peered at the swirling, hungry water, the thumping in his chest began to falter once more. He waited, wondering if his heart would stop beating once more.

Ellis was gone.

Nick _wanted_ it to stop beating.


	13. Chapter 13

~Ellis~

The mechanic made his way swiftly towards the vessel ahead of him. He was so close to the small boat that he could read her name: Lagniappe. He turned his head quickly, thinking Nick was right behind him, but was horrified when he realized that the conman had gone under.

Ellis dove beneath the agitated surface, his eyes darting back and forth in an attempt to find Nick amidst the murky water. His thoughts became frantic and jumbled together as they swirled rapidly within his head.

His time under the bridge had been the worst in his young life. His former high school Coach was dead. The man's body had been so warm…if only he had found him two minutes earlier. And Rochelle- the last time he had seen her, they were both high up in the air, so close to each other yet so very far away. He remembered fondly how she had waved to him and blown him a kiss. Now he would never see her again.

Then there was Lily and her baby. Ellis would never be able to forgive himself for what he had done to them, and he felt even more guilty because he knew that if forced to relive the nightmare again, hell, if he had to go through it a thousand times, he would have chosen to save Nick over and over.

_Selfish, you're so selfish._

Several zombies brushed past him as he pushed through the water. Fortunately, most of the monsters were unable to swim.

All of his life, Ellis had been anything but selfish. He had spent countless hours, and sacrificed much sleep, worrying in emergency hospital waiting rooms thanks to the foolish antics of his unfortunate best friend. He had even spent four months worth of his salary bailing Keith out of jail due to a late night incident with a goat. More recently, he had always volunteered to help his fellow survivors heal and gave away pain pills when he could have used them more, but the mechanic was never one to focus on his endearing qualities.

Ellis felt the first twinges of protest from his lungs, but ignored them upon catching the glimmer of Nick's suit. Thank God it was still white enough to stand out amidst the blue-green gloom. As he made his way over to Nick, the mechanic's thoughts returned to the bridge. Although it had been the worst moment of his life, it had also been the best.

After talking to Nick, he truly felt that the two of them had gotten closer.

As Ellis wrapped his arms around the helpless conman, his heart swelled almost to bursting. He surged towards the surface, propelled ever upward by his consuming love for Nick. Although he was certain the conman didn't- and never would- feel the same way towards him, he knew that Nick at least cared about him and perhaps even considered the boy to be his friend.

And that was damn good enough for Ellis.

Tears flowed from his eyes, immediately becoming one with the water around them. When he broke the surface, Ellis rolled onto his back and maneuvered Nick on top of him, hoping he would be able to keep the man afloat. It was exceedingly difficult to make it to the boat, but by some miracle, Ellis managed to hoist Nick aboard.

The boy's arms shook violently as he tried to lift himself onto the deck, but his strength was finally failing him.

"Are ya' alright Nick? I could use some help, buddy," he cried out weakly as he gripped the slick edge of the boat with his fingers while the current continued to tug at the rest of his body. He could hear Nick expelling the water from his lungs and was comforted that the conman was safe. The mechanic prepared to lift himself onto the boat again when he noticed something enormous approaching him.

The bloated corpse of a Boomer was rolling over the surface of the water like a beach ball, and it was headed straight towards him.

"Ah!" the noise escaped Ellis' throat as he failed once more to climb onto the boat. He wondered why the captain hadn't left his cabin to help them out.

Ellis' grip was faltering, and he knew Nick wouldn't be able to help him. The man was too exhausted and he seemed so terribly sick…the boy sobbed as he realized that he would no longer be around to take care of his friend.

"I LOVE YOU, NICK!" Ellis poured out everything that remained within him into those words, and was consumed with grief when an ill-timed rumble of thunder drowned them out.

The Boomer slammed into him with the force of a bowling ball, crushing Ellis against the side of the boat.

_I love you, Nick. I love you, Nick._

The boy repeated the words as the current swept him away.

Ellis was spurred into consciousness by a steady pain in his head. He was lying on his belly at the bank of the river, his face partially submerged in a puddle of vomit and river water. The storm had passed, and patches of night sky were emerging from the swift departure of the clouds. Again a dull ache surged across his skull. It was then that Ellis heard the unmistakable cackle of a Jockey.

The little creature was striking his head repeatedly with its tiny fists. Ellis groaned as he found himself unable to move, frustrated that he would meet his end at the hands of a Jockey. He suddenly heard footsteps sloshing across the moist soil towards him, and closed his eyes wearily at the sight of more zombies approaching him.

As expected, they proceeded to pound him merrily. Ellis winced and moaned as they struck his already broken body, and could see the blood trickling into the mud from his mouth and out of the corners of his eyes. For whatever reason, he rolled onto his back and stared up at his tormentors. Perhaps they could finish him off more quickly this way.

_Give up._

The dark words, implanted in his head so very long ago emerged once more.

There were many more zombies than he had realized, and he could barely see the sky behind the flurry of arms and legs swiping at him. He chose to focus on a small patch of darkness just above his head.

_Your life is meaningless._

The boy was vaguely aware of a rumbling that shook the ground beneath him.

"Tank." He coughed out the word knowingly.

Never before had Ellis felt so utterly alone as he stared up at the moonless, starless void. His eyes glazed over and he stopped feeling pain. He imagined himself floating away from his body, oh how he wished that he could just fly away.

The floating sensation continued, and Ellis imagined himself hovering over the water.

"Don't leave me."

The boy wasn't sure where the voice had come from. It was barely above a whisper…had _he_ spoken them? He did however, catch a glimpse of something wondrously white out of the corner of his vision.

"Nick…" he murmured, not fully conscious.

~Nick~

The conman hobbled towards the water with the mechanic in his arms. This section of the river was quite shallow, and he was able to tread unsteadily most of the way towards the waiting Lagniappe- his ravaged back serving as a flimsy shield for the boy as the zombies shredded it in fury, lifting the flesh and tearing at the underlying muscles.

Bullets whizzed past his head, silencing most of the monsters.

"SHIT! LOOK OUT!" the owner of the gun screamed in sheer terror.

"UUUGH!" A log as thick as his own body slammed into Nick's back, hurling both him and Ellis into the water. Captain Virgil dropped his assault rifle, jumped into the shallow water, and grabbed Nick.

The Tank was nearly at the water's edge.

"Get the boy!" the conman screamed.

"I can't see 'im! We tried sir, but that thing's comin'! We gotta' go!"

Nick frantically tried to shake himself from Virgil's grip.

"I SAID GET HIM, GOD DAMN YOU!"

Virgil promptly dropped Nick and moved away from him. The conman withdrew his pistol and aimed at the galloping Tank. He only had ten shots left. With hulking shoulders, rippling muscles, and a ridiculously tiny head, this monstrosity was like every other Tank he had fought. Nick wasn't afraid- he would take it down just like all the others.

"Over here motherfucker!" he screamed as he fired at the beast.

Nick flew through the air and landed on the deck of the ship from the force of the Tank's blow. He gasped in agony as his ribs dug into his lungs with every breath and found himself completely paralyzed from the neck down. He closed his eyes in utter defeat.

The next thing he knew, Nick was lying on his back on a small bed in the cabin of the boat. He turned his neck painfully to his left to see Ellis' face, not two inches from his own. The young man was asleep on his side next to him with his arm draped across the conman's chest. He studied the mechanic's face for a while. The swelling from the beating he had given him was gone, replaced by small streaks of dried blood on his cheeks and the blue iridescence of bruising over his eyes.

Nick tried to place his hand on the young man's forehead but remembered with much anxiety that he was unable to move. Panic gripped him and his heart resumed its painful, labored pace. He knew what was happening to him, and although he didn't want to disturb the boy, he didn't want to be alone when it happened.

"Ellis." He whispered.

The boy's brow furrowed as he stirred.

"Hi, Nick." The tears instantly started to flow from Ellis' eyes as he opened them and saw the conman's face- a face whiter than his suit on the day the man had stolen it.

"Hey, Overalls." Nick's words remained just above a whisper. Projecting his voice any louder required far more energy than he possessed, and he needed to save enough to tell the young man everything that needed to be said.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, Ellis…for everything. I mean it."

"No need ta' 'pologize Nick," the boy sniffled.

The momentary silence was deafening.

"I'm on my way out, Overalls."

"No."

The word had the tone of a direct order as it flew out of the mechanic's mouth, slapping Nick in the face with it's blunt harshness. The conman smiled.

"Since when do _you_ boss _me_ around, kid?"

"We're gonna patch you up, Nick. Everything's gonna be fine. Just don't say stuff like that, ok?"

"I think I liked you more when you were being pessimistic. That Tank really screwed me up. My insides are…I don't even want to think about it, but there's nothing you can do, Ellis. There's nothing anybody can do…"

"Stop talking Nick!" The boy lifted himself wearily into a seated position, "I told you not ta' say stuff like that. Save your strength."

"Again with the orders. How is it that even now you still manage to piss me off?" Nick began to cough violently and blood spurted from his mouth.

Ellis' body shuddered as he sighed and rested his head in his hands.

The conman's words became increasingly weak and halting.

"Listen to me Overalls. I'm putting… this bluntly because I have to. I'm dying- that's a fact. The sky is blue…Boomer's are fat…Spitters are ugly…Jockeys are perverts…and I'm dying." Nick smiled weakly, clearly amused at himself.

The boy wasn't having any of it.

"What the fuck, Nick? Makin' jokes when I'm fallin' to pieces!" the mechanic screamed.

Nick closed his eyes and smiled inwardly. Although he had failed horribly at making the boy smile, he had succeeded in pissing him off. Happy Ellis and angry Ellis were easy to handle, but he didn't know if he could hold his own against sad Ellis…not this time. He was bracing himself.

"Ellis, shut up for a second…cuz I'm only gonna say this once- literally. If I didn't think I was going to die, I wouldn't be telling you this."

The boy obeyed and calmed down, laying next to Nick once more.

"Ellis…you are the most annoying person I have ever met…but you're also the kindest, purest person I've ever met. The only reason I even made it this far…is because of you…not just because you've saved my ass more times than I can count…but because you were able to see past all the bullshit…cuz you cared enough about a worthless asshole like me…God damn it…God damned zombies…"

Nick's vision became blurry.

"I'm glad everyone turned inta' zombies," Ellis said softly as he began to tremble.

"_What?"_

"I said, I'm glad everyone turned inta' zombies!" The boy began sobbing uncontrollably as he buried his face into Nick's neck.

"I'm glad the whole world's gone ta' hell! Cuz if it didn't, I woulda' never met you! You made all of this shit worth it, Nick! You can't leave me! Please don't leave me all alone!"

A tear trickled down the conman's face.

"Jesus Christ, Ellis…you're torturing me worse than any zombie ever did. I don't want to leave you…damn it… that's the last thing I want to do right now…"

"I _love_ you, Nick. I was scared ta' tell you, but I'm not scared no more."

"Ellis I know. I knew you loved me since we were back at the carnival…I just didn't know how to handle that…I guess I was scared too."

Nick started to breathe heavily, clearly in distress. Ellis squeezed him tightly.

The conman's arm began to tremble as he struggled to make it move. He was close, so horribly close to the brink now, and the thought of dying was terrifying him.

"Overalls…hold my hand."

Instantly his hand was enveloped by Ellis'.

"I wish my ex-wife loved me as much as you do…hell, I wish my parents loved me as much as you do…Ellis? Ellis?"

"I'm still here, Nick."

"I can't see you…I can't see…"

"I'm still here. Still here."

The conman's final words were so quiet that Ellis wasn't completely sure that he heard them correctly.

"Ellis…you're a God damned…inbred…son of a…bitch….but I love you."

Nick's face relaxed as the last of his breath escaped from his lungs.

* * *

Ellis sat on the deck of the Lagniappe with Nick's head in his lap, watching the sun rise over New Orleans. The sight was overwhelmingly beautiful.

"You were right, Nick. We made it." The boy's voice was tiny as he peered down at the man's motionless face.

Virgil made his way onto the deck and placed his large hand on Ellis' shoulder.

"You ready, son?"

"Yeah."

Virgil lifted Nick's body and carried him onto the dock, Ellis following slowly behind them. The port was barricaded by large gates with barbed wire strung along the top. Ellis tried to ignore the rotting flesh caught within the barbs.

"This looks like a good spot," Virgil suggested, as he laid Nick gently on the ground. He then gathered some wood, newspapers, and various other flammable materials and arranged them into a makeshift pyre. Before placing Nick on top, he turned to Ellis and spoke softly.

"You wanna keep his suit?"

"Nah. That suit's too good fer' me…he's the only one cool enough ta' wear it." The devastation was all too apparent in the boy's voice.

Virgil stepped onto the ship and came back with a container of fuel. He poured a tiny amount onto the pyre.

Ellis knelt down in front of his fallen friend.

"You were the most awesome, badass, amazin' person I have ever met…the only man I ever truly loved. Thank you so much." Ellis buried his face in his hands.

"Excuse me son. May I say somethin'?" Virgil asked.

"A'course you can," Ellis replied, wiping his eyes.

Virgil cleared his throat.

"That man was the craziest, bravest son 'a bitch I eva' seen. Threatened ta' strangle me ta' death if I didn't turn the boat around ta' getcha." Virgil chuckled when he saw the small smile creep across Ellis' face.

"And before I could even stop the boat, he jumped out ta' save ya' even though he could barely stand up on his own. That man musta' cared about you somethin' fierce. Were ya'll brothers?"

Ellis liked that idea a lot.

"Yeah. Nick was my brother," he replied, choking out the words.

"I'm sorry fo' your loss."

"Thank you, kindly."

Virgil lit the pyre and walked back onto to boat as Ellis stared at the consuming flames. He watched for hours as Nick slowly rose up into the sky.

When the fire finally burned itself out, Virgil emerged from the boat with a silver locket in his hands. He walked over to Nick's ashes and placed a small amount into the locket before handing it to Ellis.

"Belonged to my wife. I want you ta' have it now."

"Wow, thank you so much." Ellis put the locket around his neck and tucked it under his shirt.

"Listen, son. You seem like such a good kid. I'd hate ta' see you wander off into this city by your lonesome. Why not stay with me and see if we can rescue some more folks?"

Ellis pondered the offer for a while. With Nick gone, he honestly didn't know what to do with himself.

"What should I do, Nick?" he whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

~Epilogue~

Ellis collapsed- battered, bleeding, broken.

His surroundings spun slowly in a clockwise direction, fading into blackness, re-emerging into haziness, and fading into blackness once more.

_What if…_

The words floated along in the inky blackness, not fully formed by his semi-conscious mind.

What if he had stayed with Virgil on the Lagniappe? What would his life have become if he had taken the offer of the kind Cajun captain? Would he have become a hero? A savior? An immortal, living forever in the hearts of the people he could have saved- their descendents speaking his name in honor and reverence for generations to come?

None of that mattered.

Only Nick mattered, and that conman wouldn't have given a shit about those people. The rest of the world be damned- Nick had given his life for Ellis, and _only_ Ellis.

_What if…_

What if he managed to make it out alive? For Nick.

As Ellis coughed up blood, his arms and legs trembled violently.

All of his life, the boy believed he was invincible- until a man in a white suit came along and revealed to him just how vulnerable he was. Thanks to Nick, Ellis knew what true weakness was…what true passion was…and what it truly meant to be alive.

Ellis wanted to live.

He wanted to live because _Nick_ wanted him to live. As long as his heart was beating, and as long as his lungs drew breath, Nick would remain alive in him.

The constant presence of the man in white is what kept Ellis running, shooting, sweating, swiping, kicking, bleeding, and crawling towards that God damned bridge.

As he flew through the waterfront, weaving in and out of cafés and kitchens, Nick was there.

As he tore through Bienville Park, slashing madly with a machete, Nick was there.

When he blasted his way with an assault rifle through the gauntlet of a military out post littered with the viscera of innocent humanity, Nick was there.

As he brandished a chainsaw while hobbling desperately on a sprained ankle through a labyrinthine junkyard- overflowing with alarmed cars, Nick was there.

As he crawled into a desecrated cemetery tomb to hide away from the world, Nick was there.

When the city collapsed around him from the merciless attacks of his would-be saviors, Nick was there.

And as he stood staring at the vermilion sun, hovering over the sea with a thousand monsters ahead of him, Nick was there.

With monumental effort, Ellis opened his eyes as the hatch of the helicopter closed behind him- his surroundings still spinning in a clockwise direction. As he rose up into the clouds, Ellis hoped beyond hope that some day- in one way, shape, or form, he would meet his beloved companion again.

"We made it, Nick. We made it…"

* * *

Ellis held the silver locket to his heart as he lay alone in a hospital bed, staring at a vermilion sunset, the same way he had done nearly sixty years ago. He closed his weary eyes as his mind constructed Nick's image for what must have been the millionth time- still as young, handsome and strong as he had been when they first met so very long ago.

Tears streamed down Ellis' weathered, wrinkled cheeks. He was among the last of the living survivors of a hellish nightmare that would slowly but surely fade away into history.

The rest of the world had shown little sympathy to the sweet, old man who had managed to survive hell and remain untouched by crippling madness.

But Ellis no longer cared about the rest of the world.

As his body finally began to fail him, he continued to focus on the one thing that had kept his mind lucid- on the one person who had continued to tirelessly protect him each and every night from the monsters that lurked in his dreams.

Ellis' breathing suddenly turned to desperate, ineffective gasps and his body began to convulse violently.

"Nick! Nick!" He cried out in a heart-wrenching plea as the locket slipped from his trembling fingers.

As it broke open, scattering Nick's ashes across the floor, Ellis' heart became still and he faded away.

"Hey, Overalls…"

End


End file.
